Visa Helps Launch Vietnam’s First AI-Powered Pay-Later Card

Visa says it is helping launch Vietnam’s first artificial intelligence (AI)-powered pay-later card.

The card is being rolled out in collaboration with Visa-owned financial transaction processing platform Pismo and neobank Circle Asia Technologies, the payments giant said in a Thursday (Dec. 4) news release.

Visa added that the card, scheduled to be introduced in phases in the early part of next year, is being designed to break down the barriers the company says have led to low credit card penetration in Vietnam.

“Powered by AI, it will offer users a seamless way to build credit with instant approval, make payments globally and manage their finances with unprecedented ease and security bypassing the need for a bank account,” the release said. “Using AI modeling, Circle can determine risk and underwrite a customer with an active virtual credit card that also offers flexible installment features as part of Circle PayLater, in under five minutes.”

The release notes that, despite being acquired by Visa last year, Pismo is still “network-agnostic,” continuing to work with a variety of card networks.

“Our collaboration with Circle and Visa underscores how uniting modern core processing technology with trusted global payments capabilities enables new, more transparent, and more accessible consumer experiences,” said Varun Dudeja, Pismo’s head of business development for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

“This collaboration further accelerates the momentum toward a smarter and more inclusive digital financial ecosystem.”

The partnership comes as consumers continue to embrace pay-later offerings, particularly younger consumers, as recent PYMNTS Intelligence data shows. The research has also found that consumers are using buy now, pay later (BNPL) plans responsibly and strategically.

In her analysis of BNPL, published here in October, PYMNTS CEO Webster said between 97% and 98% of BNPL users manage their installment obligations on schedule. The data showed that 23.4% of consumers use BNPL for scheduling flexibility, 24.1% because it does not feel like accruing new debt and 23.3% because it provides better control over payments.

“In an inflationary year, this disciplined use of installments represents financial breathing room for consumers. It’s something issuers, merchants and households can be thankful for, a flexible tool that enhances stability without introducing disproportionate risk,” PYMNTS wrote last week.