PayPal and Visa have extended their partnership from the US to Asia Pacific that will see them jointly work to accelerate the adoption of secure, reliable and convenient digital and mobile payments for consumers and merchants in markets across the region.

This partnership makes it easier for Visa issuing banks in Asia Pacific to offer their cardholders the ability to checkout anywhere PayPal is accepted online. It also expands the use of PayPal to retailers that accept Visa in physical locations.

The agreement is an extension of the strategic partnership between PayPal and Visa in the United States, announced in July 2016 and provides joint growth opportunities based on the following:

Customer Choice: PayPal and Visa will create a more seamless experience for consumers who choose to pay with their Visa card at retailers that accept PayPal. Through collaboration with Visa bank partners, consumers will be able to easily add Visa cards into PayPal from other banking apps.

Digital collaboration: Visa and PayPal agree to extend participation in the Visa Digital Enablement Program (VDEP). VDEP provides Visa's partners with access to tokenisation technology, which enables payment on mobile phones or any connected device. This will expand the use of PayPal to retailers that accept Visa in physical locations.

Joint service propositions for emerging markets: PayPal and Visa will work together to expand access to enable the use of electronic payments in emerging markets in the Asia Pacific region.

Easier and faster access to funds: Visa will provide the option for PayPal to leverage Visa Direct (Visa's push payments solution), allowing PayPal customers to move funds to their Visa accounts in real time across multiple markets.

Dr. Rohan Mahadevan, Senior Vice President for PayPal Asia Pacific said: "We could not be more proud of our extended partnership agreement with Visa in the Asia Pacific markets.

"This is a strong signal that our decision to partner in 2016 was the right thing to do for PayPal, Visa and our millions of merchants and consumers in this region. We look forward to partnering with Visa to offer more choice and better experiences together online, in app and in store within Asia Pacific."

Chris Clark, Group Executive, Asia Pacific, Visa said: "Visa and PayPal are aligning our businesses to bring best in class payment services to the entire ecosystem.

"From emerging markets where we'll give consumers greater access to electronic payments to driving more seamless ways to pay in developed markets, Visa and PayPal will deliver new commerce experiences across the region."