Visa Business Hub Targets Asia SMEs

Visa has rolled out a service for small and medium-sized enterprises across Asia in need of Software-as-a-Service solutions. Reports on Monday (April 25) said the payments conglomerate introduced the Visa Business Hub in the market, a portal for SaaS apps that the company said will look to reduce costs for smaller companies by up to 25 percent.

According to reports, the Business Hub will also provide SMEs with Visa’s Business Academy, an advisory service that will help businesses stay competitive.

The solution will first open for SMEs in Malaysia and Singapore, reports added.

“Small-medium business is a key segment for Singapore, given that they contribute to almost 50 percent of our country’s gross domestic product and 70 percent of the workforce,” said Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei Ooi Huey Tyng, according to SMB World Asia.

“The launch of Visa Business Hub will be able to address the key strategies that small and medium businesses are looking for, including improving customer service and increasing productivity through streamlining of processes,” the executive continued.

Reports added that recent research highlights the rising demand for SaaS among Singapore’s SMEs. A survey, the site said, found that 80 percent of companies in the country say their decision to use SaaS tools is due to the technology now being seen as a best practice in the industry. More than one-third of survey respondents said they plan to upgrade their current software or to acquire more.

In Malaysia, meanwhile, reports said that awareness of cloud services is at 76 percent of SMEs, with usage at about 34 percent. Further, 40 percent of Malaysian businesses said they would consider procuring a SaaS tool in the future.

In another statement, Visa Head of Small Business Products for Asia-Pacific Vikram Kshettry said the launch of Visa Business Hub “will help Asian businesses which seek to make tangible improvements in their processes.”

“Modern businesses face increased demands from their stakeholders to be digitally enabled, and this is often daunting,” Kshettry said. “With the portal, SMBs can improve cash flow, optimize business processes, while reducing IT spend and complexity.”