Visa and USSC Money Services Inc. have launched U Accept, a payment feature designed to let Filipino micro, small, and medium enterprises accept contactless card payments using an eligible smartphone.
U Accept is powered by Visa Accept and integrated into UMSI’s uGrow app, a digital platform for entrepreneurs and small businesses. By turning compatible smartphones into payment acceptance devices, the solution removes the need for a traditional point-of-sale terminal and the upfront hardware costs that can come with it.
Lowering barriers to digital payments
MSMEs account for more than 99% of business enterprises in the Philippines and generate 67% of total employment, according to figures cited in the release. Yet many small businesses still face barriers to card acceptance, including hardware costs, lengthy onboarding processes, and limited awareness of available payment solutions.
Visa says its research among Filipino SME owners found that 83% reported higher turnover after accepting card payments, while 41% said customers spent more when using cards. Among businesses that do not currently accept cards, 67% said they would consider doing so if given support.
The release does not provide the methodology, sample size, or field dates for the Visa study, so the findings remain presented as company research rather than broader market estimates.
Contactless payments and pay-by-link
MSME owners can activate U Accept through the uGrow app to receive contactless card payments and pay-by-link transactions without investing in additional proprietary hardware.
The feature can also send digital receipts to customers via email and provide access to transaction history. These functions complement existing uGrow tools for sales monitoring and inventory management, while settlement can be made on a near-real-time basis to a user’s U Visa Prepaid Card.
“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas welcomes the launch of Visa Accept in the Philippines, underscoring its importance in accelerating digitalization of payments in the country,” said Mamerto E. Tangonan, deputy governor for the Payments and Currency Management Sector of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. He said wider access to digital payment acceptance can help more MSMEs participate in the country’s broader digital transformation.
Bringing card acceptance to more entrepreneurs
Jeffrey Navarro, country manager of Visa Philippines, said the collaboration is intended to extend digital payment acceptance to more Filipino entrepreneurs, including those serving both local customers and international visitors.
“The collaboration between Visa and UMSI is a game-changer for Filipino MSMEs, bringing payments innovation to where it can have the most impact to our communities,” Navarro said.
Jose Xavier Gonzales, president and chief executive officer of UMSI, said the Visa Accept integration strengthens the uGrow app as a business-management platform for small retailers and entrepreneurs.
“Through uGrow, UMSI creates an ecosystem where small business owners and retailers have secure, more reliable ways to manage their business without the complexity of traditional enterprise systems,” Gonzales said.
Building on an existing Visa-UMSI partnership
The launch builds on an earlier collaboration between Visa and UMSI. In 2025, the two companies announced a partnership involving Visa Direct to support outbound money movement and cross-border payment services.
With U Accept, the partnership is expanding into merchant acceptance, focusing on making contactless payments more accessible to smaller businesses without requiring conventional POS hardware.
In Summary
Visa and UMSI have launched U Accept, a feature within the uGrow app that turns eligible smartphones into contactless payment acceptance devices. The solution supports contactless card payments, pay-by-link transactions, digital receipts, transaction history, and near-real-time settlement to a U Visa Prepaid Card, giving MSMEs an alternative to traditional POS hardware.