Visa debit cardholders in Southeast Asia can now get money transfers
Nium Pte Ltd, a digital cross-border payments platform, is enabling users to make real-time money transfers to Visa debit cardholders across Southeast Asia including Viet Nam.
It is based on Visa’s real-time push payments solution Visa Direct.
Nium is the first fintech-based money transfer service provider in Southeast Asia to offer instant money transfer services through recipients’ 16-digit Visa debit card numbers.
Now available in Singapore, it offers both peer-to-peer and business-to-business transfers.
In the first phase, remittances can be made to various Southeast Asia countries.
Prajit Nanu, co-founder and CEO of Nium said: “We understand that individuals and businesses need to receive money quickly, especially in markets where there are no instant payment solutions like FAST or IMPS. The partnership using Visa’s push payment solution and secure network will allow our consumers to transfer money in a faster, convenient and more secure way.”
According to a recent Visa survey, more than one in three respondents in Singapore make international money transfers at least once a year. Almost half of them expect their funds to be successfully transferred in less than a day.
Singapore has a Vietnamese community of around 12,000, many of them migrant workers who remit money back to their families.
Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos, Dang Tuyet Dung, said: “Remittances are incredibly important for many families here, and in fact, Viet Nam is among the top 10 receivers of remittances in the world. As such, having fast, reliable and cost-effective means of sending money isn’t just a necessity, it also helps drive the economy.” — VNS
