Visa Announces Opening of Sri Lanka office – Appoints Anthony Watson as Country Manager

Visa, the global leader in payments technology, today announced the opening of a local office in Colombo and the appointment of Anthony Watson as the Country Manager for Sri Lanka.

The new Visa office and appointment of Mr. Watson are two important milestones in Visa’s drive and commitment to develop financial infrastructure and expand access to electronic payments across           the region.

Chris Clark, Group Executive, Asia Pacific, Visa, said, “The payments industry is undergoing a rapid change with new technologies and innovations changing the way we pay and get paid. Visa is at the forefront of this change collaborating with financial institutions, merchants, governments, startups and developers across the world to create the commerce experiences of the future. We value the long standing relationship we already have with our clients and partners in Sri Lanka and are excited about the future, to bring new innovations to Sri Lanka.”

T.R. Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa, said, “Sri Lanka is a priority market for Visa in South Asia and one where we see tremendous opportunity for the growth of electronic payments. By establishing a local office and appointing an in-market country manager we’ll be better positioned to support our clients, partners and merchants to realize this growth and deliver the benefits of electronic payments to consumers and businesses across the country.”

Anthony Watson, Visa Country Manager, Sri Lanka, said, “I am both honored and excited to be establishing Visa’s office in Sri Lanka as I believe electronic payments can have a truly profound impact on both the people of Sri Lanka and the country’s economy.

“In my role I’m going to be focused on growing the electronification of commerce as we transition cash payments to electronic payments across the country. In doing so, we will be providing Sri Lankan people with easier and more secure access to their funds, supporting local businesses to grow, encouraging tourism and helping to stimulate economic growth. I’m excited to be on the ground here in Sri Lanka and I’m looking forward to working closely with our clients, businesses and the Sri Lankan government to achieve this vision.”

Mr. Watson has been associated with Visa since 2009, joining as the Senior Client Relationship Manager handling Visa Processing services in Australia and New Zealand. In 2011, he moved to Visa’s Singapore office to lead the prepaid product development and infrastructure across Asia Pacific and then headed the Product Development & Strategy for the same region, before his appointment as Country Manager Sri Lanka.

Visa has been present in Sri Lanka since 1989 and has consolidated its position as a market leader.