Klook and Visa Partner to Boost Experience-Led Travel Across Southeast Asia

Visa and Klook have entered a strategic partnership across six Southeast Asian markets to integrate digital payments with the region’s growing experience-led travel trend. By linking Klook’s activity ecosystem with Visa’s payment network, the collaboration aims to capture consumer spend at the point of inspiration, specifically through social commerce and creator-led storefronts.

What was announced

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covers Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. This multi-market agreement focuses on four primary pillars: joint creator programmes, specific cardholder offers, increased in-destination brand presence, and the integration of Klook as a partner within the Visa Destinations travel platform. The partnership is designed to address a fundamental shift in how Southeast Asian consumers plan their trips, moving away from destination-first planning toward activity-centric itineraries.

Data from Visa’s 2026 Global Travel Intentions study indicates that 37% of Asia Pacific respondents now plan trips around unique local experiences, a figure that sits significantly higher than the global average of 29%. This is mirrored by Klook’s Travel Pulse 2026 research, which found that more than half of travellers in the region no longer begin their planning with a fixed destination. Furthermore, 23% of these travellers identify a specific activity first and choose their destination based on that experience.

A central component of the announcement is the focus on social commerce. Klook and Visa will establish a shared creator framework to leverage the Klook Kreator Programme, which currently consists of over 30,000 creators across 88 markets. Under the new agreement, affiliate links from Visa-affiliated creators will be hosted on Kreator Shops. These are Klook’s revamped creator storefronts, which were officially launched in August 2026 to allow travellers to book recommended experiences directly from social content.

"Travel is a major force shaping Southeast Asia's cultures and economies. At Visa, we believe everyone can be the traveller they want to be, and that journey begins long before payment. Our collaboration with Klook combines Visa's trusted payments network with a creator community that inspires travellers to act. Together, we look forward to bringing Visa Destinations to more travellers across Southeast Asia and connecting cardholders with the experiences they value most."

Gladys Chan, Head of Marketing, Regional Southeast Asia, Visa.

The companies involved

Visa is a global leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. The company maintains a massive presence in the fintech sector, with a corporate history defined by the transition from credit cards to a "network of networks" approach. In the Southeast Asian market, Visa has focused heavily on digitising the travel corridor, which remains one of the highest-volume sectors for cross-border payments.

Klook is a leading pan-regional experiences platform headquartered in Asia Pacific. The company specialises in connecting travellers with local attractions, tours, transportation, and various "in-destination" services. Klook has distinguished itself in the travel-tech space by aggressively pursuing social commerce, moving beyond a standard booking engine to become a content-driven platform. Sarah Wan serves as the General Manager for Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand at Klook, overseeing the core markets involved in this new Visa partnership. The company’s strategy relies heavily on its "Kreator" community to drive bookings through authentic, real-life social media content rather than traditional advertising.

What FF News has reported before

Visa has been consistently active in expanding its digital payment infrastructure and leadership across various regions. Recently, FF News reported that Visa Appoints Mario Makary as Vice President and Country Manager for UAE to Drive Digital Payment Innovation, highlighting the company's focus on regional expertise. In the realm of technical innovation, Cleverbridge and Visa Complete France’s First Live Passkey-Authenticated Agentic Payment, demonstrating Visa's move toward AI-driven transaction security. Additionally, the company has bolstered its corporate payment offerings, as seen when UPT Partners with Visa to Launch Virtual IBANs for Corporate Cross-Border Payments. These developments show a broader trend of Visa embedding its technology into specific vertical ecosystems, from corporate treasury to consumer travel.

What this means

This partnership signals a significant move by payment networks to move "upstream" in the customer journey. By integrating with creator-led storefronts, Visa is no longer just the utility at the end of a transaction; it is becoming a visible part of the discovery phase. This puts traditional banks under pressure to evolve their loyalty programmes, as generic "points" may struggle to compete with the immediate, curated value offered by experience-led platforms. The industry is clearly shifting toward a model where payment data and social influence converge. The success of this MoU will likely depend on how seamlessly the "Kreator Shops" can convert social media engagement into secure, cross-border transactions without friction.