The Universal Postal Union (UPU), a UN agency that serves as the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players, and Visa, a global leader in digital payments, have announced a strategic collaboration to expand access to digital postal financial services within the UPU network.
The collaboration aims to promote financial inclusion and stimulate economic development by leveraging the UN agency’s international postal network and Visa’s payments network.
As part of the collaboration, Visa and UPU announced three programs:
• Global Postal Digital Inclusive Finance Program: This program aims to help advance financial inclusion and economic resilience by providing tailored support for post offices that are digitalizing postal financial services. It will cover regions including Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Arab world.
• Improving Postal Payment Interconnectivity: Enhance the UPU network’s cross-border payment capabilities by integrating with Visa’s global network.
• Cybersecurity & Risk Advisory Program: This initiative will leverage Visa’s cybersecurity and risk credentials to assess and help enhance cybersecurity strategies, the safety and reliability of financial services within the UPU’s postal payment system.
Key Areas of Collaboration:
• Digitalizing Postal Financial Services: Enhancing digital services such as international remittances, bill payments, and inbound payments to help meet postal operators’ needs at their current stage of digitalization.
• Provision of Government Services through Postal Networks: Facilitating more inclusive access to government services and payments, including disbursements and tax collection, to support national financial inclusion strategies.
• Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Digitalization and Financing: Supporting the economic inclusion of MSMEs, particularly women-owned businesses, through digital solutions like e-marketplaces and mobile-based loan disbursements.
• Cybersecurity and Risk Management: Strengthening cybersecurity measures and risk mitigation tools to help protect the international postal network from potential cyber threats.
The new collaboration builds on the success of the UPU Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility (FITAF), an initiative supported by Visa and the Gates Foundation that helps postal operators in developing countries provide financial services to local communities.
Rajiv Garodia, Head of Visa Government Solutions, said: "Visa is committed to using our global network and innovative technology to help empower governments and drive financial inclusion globally. The UPU is a perfect collaborator for us in this respect as it plays a significant role in providing financial services to 1.5 billion people worldwide”.
Siva Somasundram, Director of Policy, Regulation, and Markets at the UPU, said: At the UPU, we strive to foster international collaborations to drive the improvement of financial services, digital transformation, financial inclusion, innovation, and knowledge sharing within our postal network. Our goal is to diversify digital postal financial products and solutions to ensure that every community - no matter how remote - has access to relevant, reliable, and efficient services.
Promoting public-private partnerships, like the one with Visa, is a priority for the UPU in delivering sustainable and scalable digital solutions that meet the needs of underserved postal customers - helping them access digital payments, digital savings, credit, and inclusive insurance, while supporting national financial inclusion goals.”