Visa and the Philippine Guarantee Corporation (PhilGuarantee) will work together to explore credit access and drive financial inclusion for MSMEs.
From left to right: Philippine Guarantee Corporation (PhilGuarantee) Acting Department Head for Priority Sectors Guarantee Group Gina Banaag and Senior Vice President and Group Head, Priority Sectors Guarantee Group Celso Gutierrez, with Visa Philippines Country Manager Jeffrey Navarro and Head for Visa Government Solutions, Regional Southeast Asia Bella Lai.
Philippines, 29 September 2025 — Visa (NYSE: V), a global leader in digital payments, has signed a memorandum of understanding with PhilGuarantee. The agreement aims to expand credit access and promote financial inclusion for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Exploring Credit Guarantee Schemes
Through this collaboration, Visa and PhilGuarantee will explore credit guarantee schemes for MSMEs. They will also look at ways to improve MSME access to credit through partner lending institutions. In addition, they plan to support MSME digitization through various capacity-building initiatives.
The partnership will draw on Visa Government Solutions. This unit offers services such as disbursement programs, payment acceptance and financial education to streamline operations and boost financial inclusion. Meanwhile, PhilGuarantee, an agency under the Department of Finance, provides accessible and efficient guarantee systems for key government sectors.
The MSME Funding Gap
The country has over 1.2 million MSMEs, and they account for more than 66% of total employment. Clearly, they are vital to the economy. Yet they face major hurdles in accessing capital.
A recent Visa study found that 44% of MSMEs cite cash flow as a top challenge. Over half said their cash reserves would last less than six months. Moreover, less than 10% of total corporate loans went to MSMEs. This funding gap holds back many MSME owners.
Visa’s Wider Support for Small Businesses
The Visa Foundation previously launched a $100-million small business accelerator initiative to support MSMEs in the Philippines and other Asia Pacific economies. The initiative aims to advance digital financial inclusion, create jobs and increase access to capital for SMEs in the region.
Visa’s Practical Business Skills program complements this effort. It gives SME owners essential knowledge in cash flow management, digital payment integration and financial planning.
“Our collaboration with PhilGuarantee reiterates our support to the government’s vision to expand financial inclusion — supporting our MSMEs’ contribution to overall economic growth, and they deserve to have access to financial products and solutions that are responsive to their needs,” said Jeffrey Navarro, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines.
