Visa's advancement in uplifting the Asia Pacific digital economy while combating payment fraud is gaining ground. Merchants who have adopted the Visa Token Service (VTS), a system designed to better digital payment experiences and protect consumers' sensitive information, have recognised an uplift in payment transactions valued at over USD $2 billion. Furthermore, these merchants have seen a substantial drop in fraud rates by 58%.

The payment giant recently celebrated hitting the one-billion-token milestone in the Asia Pacific region. These tokens aim to enhance digital commerce, both in-store and online. This achievement establishes the valuable role tokens play in the market.

Visa's innovative VTS replaces the standard 16-digit debit or credit card number with a unique identifier or token. This advanced and safe technique can only be unlocked by Visa, thus securing the payment credential and enabling the transfer of enhanced data. Consequently, this has improved payment success rates and brought down fraud rates. The ease of use across devices also leads to an improved consumer experience.

Network tokens are expected by consumers and businesses alike as an enabler for secure and smooth payments. The robust payment processing facilitated by tokens also results in an enriched data exchange for each transaction. From the merchant's perspective, the success and security these tokens provide allow them to focus more on product innovation and customer engagement. The adoption of tokenised payments has led to an affirmation uplift of USD $2 billion, all while reducing payment fraud rates by an impressive 58%.

Previn Pillay, Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring, Asia Pacific, Visa, said, "Consumers and businesses alike expect payments to be secure and seamless, and network tokens are the enabler. With the authorisation uplift and lowered fraud rates, merchants can focus more of their valuable time and resources on product innovation and customer engagement. We encourage more merchants to adopt tokenised payments as this technology can make a direct impact on their top and bottom lines."

Furthermore, Visa is also opening up the potential for enhanced online payment experiences with tokenised credentials. With tokens, consumers don't need to manually key in their 16-digit credentials when making transactions online or deal with updating their card details on multiple platforms in case of card expiration or replacement. VTS ensures that merchants can safely and seamlessly update their customer's payment information via Visa's platform, providing their customers with seamless, uninterrupted payments.

Speaking on the vision for the future of commerce, TR Ramachandran, Head of Products and Solutions, Asia Pacific, Visa, expressed, "Tokens pave the way for the future of commerce as the innovation possibilities are immense. Tokenised payment credentials can unlock new and more personalised consumer experiences beyond physical Visa cards. We continue to build on the capabilities that modern credentials offer, together with our partners, to bring more value to the entire payment ecosystem."