Payful launches Visa charge cards on BPC platform

By Milan Rojan

Chinese cross-border payment company Payful has launched a cloud-native Visa charge-card programme for corporate and merchant clients on BPC’s SmartVista platform, in a move that expands its issuing capabilities in Hong Kong.

The programme has been designed to give merchants a more secure and efficient way to manage business spending through virtual Visa charge cards hosted in the cloud. Payful said the setup has provided greater control and flexibility over payments, while users have gained real-time visibility, a smoother digital card experience and added fraud protection.

Ben Wang, General Manager of Card Business Unit, International Division, Payful, said: “With BPC’s support, we’ve built a future-proven issuing business within a year. Merchants can now sort their settlement funds through Visa credentials, simplifying supplier payments and employee travel while keeping fraud in check. Our next goal is to replicate this model in key export markets across Oceania, Europe and the Americas.”

According to the company, Payful has selected a cloud model to support rapid activation of modern issuing functionality while keeping operating costs low. The firm also has cited long-term expansion plans as a key reason for choosing a platform that could support product evolution over time. BPC said it has been the only processor able to meet those requirements while offering a subscription pricing structure aligned with Payful’s growth strategy.

Using SmartVista’s cloud-ready infrastructure, Payful has upgraded its issuing stack and has been able to launch new card programmes quickly, including six Visa charge-card products focused on purchasing, travel and corporate credit, without the need for custom coding. The platform has also included adaptive transactional scoring and 3DS 2.0 functionality for fraud prevention.

Nikhil Gujral, Head of Sales, APAC, BPC, said: “Payful needed a partner who would allow them to innovate at fintech speed. Our cloud-native microservices architecture allowed that and offered Payful the ability to scale the programme to new jurisdictions whenever they are ready following the Hong Kong debut.”

Payful has integrated its core banking system through CBSGate APIs and has introduced a notification service that delivers real-time updates to merchants and cardholders.

The solution has linked each Visa card directly to funds held in merchants’ separate settlement accounts at Payful, allowing businesses to settle supplier invoices or employee travel and expense claims without moving money to an external wallet.