Visa appoints Jeff Navarro as Philippine country manager

Digital payments platform Visa on Monday announced the appointment of Jeff Navarro as the new country manager for the Philippines and Guam, following his stint in Western Union.

Navarro joins Visa after working as regional vice president of Western Union for the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indochina. He was also president and chairman of the board of Western Union Processing Services Inc.

He will take over from Dan Wolbert, who has moved to a new role in the North American operations of Visa.

“I am excited and honoured to have the opportunity to lead a team of seasoned professionals, who share the drive and passion to further widen financial inclusion for all Filipinos,” Navarro said in an emailed statement.

“I look forward to working closely with our clients, fintechs, the regulator, and all stakeholders to grow digital payments in the country, and enable individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive,” he added.

Navarro began his career as a consultant at Accenture, before working in sales, brand, and business development roles in Smart Communications Inc. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.

“Jeff and the team will drive our business agenda with clients, consumers, and regulators in the Philippines and Guam, in line with our purpose to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid,” Visa Group country manager for Regional Southeast Asia Tareq Muhmood said.

At present, Visa facilitates transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities across over 200 countries and territories.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that 56% or 22 million adult Filipinos owned a bank account in 2021, up from 29% in 2019. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/KG, GMA News