The Universal Postal Union, a specialised agency of the United Nations that serves as the primary forum for postal sector collaboration, has joined forces with Visa, a global digital payments leader, in a strategic partnership aimed at expanding digital postal financial services worldwide.
This collaboration is designed to support financial inclusion and foster economic development by leveraging the UPU’s international postal network alongside Visa’s expansive and secure payments infrastructure.
As part of the partnership, the two organisations have introduced three major programmes. The Global Postal Digital Inclusive Finance Program will provide tailored support to help post offices across regions such as Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Arab world digitalise their financial services. A second initiative, Improving Postal Payment Interconnectivity, aims to integrate the UPU’s payment system with Visa’s global network to enhance cross-border payment capabilities.
Finally, the Cybersecurity & Risk Advisory Program will utilise Visa’s risk expertise to help strengthen cybersecurity measures within postal financial systems.
The UPU, established in 1874 and headquartered in Switzerland, coordinates international postal policies and ensures a universal network of up-to-date and secure postal services.
Visa, headquartered in the United States, enables digital payments across more than 200 countries and territories, serving governments, financial institutions, businesses, and consumers.
This strategic alliance builds on the foundation laid by the UPU’s Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility (FITAF), which is supported by Visa and the Gates Foundation. FITAF assists postal operators in developing countries in delivering financial services to underserved populations.
The key focus areas of this collaboration include the digitalisation of postal financial services—covering remittances, bill payments, and other inbound services—as well as the facilitation of government services such as disbursements and tax collection via the postal network. Another major goal is to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), especially women-owned businesses, through digital tools like e-marketplaces and mobile-based lending. Strengthening cybersecurity and risk management across postal systems is also a central objective.
Rajiv Garodia, Visa government solutions head, 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, UPU director of policy, regulation, and markets, 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.”
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