Visa's Ooi Huey Tyng aggressively eyeing a cashless society

Find out what the new country manager for Singapore and Brunei will do differently in her position.

Ms. Ooi will be responsible for driving Visa’s growth in the two markets with a focus on forging strong business partnerships with financial institutions, regulatory bodies, technology providers and other key segments of the local economies. Ms. Ooi takes over the country management role from Meranda Chan who is now head of marketing, Southeast Asia for Visa.  

ABF: What makes you excited about your new position?
Visa is the industry leader in payments, and I’m excited to delve into the company’s international culture and vision. A part of this will be taking advantage of Visa’s global best practices, innovation and expertise for the business in Singapore and Brunei.

In this new role, I am committed to working closely with banks and partners to achieve shared goals that enable new payments innovations. This is critical to our business and allows us to better serve consumers, governments and businesses. New electronic payments solutions like contactless, mobile and eCommerce are evolving at a rapid pace and gathering momentum in our part of the world.

Opportunities for Visa’s business growth are endless in this region, specifically in Singapore and Brunei. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach but with the right mix of talent and a collaborative approach to working with partners, I’m confident we’ll be able to achieve many goals.

ABF: What changes are you planning for?
I would like to see Visa play a strategic role in shaping the future of payment and the overall payment strategy in collaboration with our clients and partners. In addition, I have always admired Visa's leadership in not just card programs but electronic payments innovation. I think Visa is in a great position to proactively enable the national agenda of moving towards a cashless society.

ABF: What are your key business philosophies?
I’ve always believed that success means putting our clients at the heart of everything we do. I would like to be in a position to enable clients personal and business successes as I believe this is the way to a sustainable long-term partnership and friendship. Oftentimes, people lose sight of the big picture – success is a shared achievement, and that no one stands alone.

This takes me to my next point. I am a firm believer that people are company’s greatest assets. I believe that a good measure of leadership is the calibre of people who choose to be led by you. What keeps me motivated each day are the smart, dedicated and creative people I work alongside.

ABF: What previous positions prepared you for this one and how?
In my professional career, I’ve spanned across a variety of industries with many years in the banking and payments sectors. For instance, in my previous roles at DBS Bank, UOB and Citibank, I worked with Visa on numerous card programs, seeing it from the Client’s perspective and as a practitioner. This insight is extremely valuable and helpful in fostering deeper understanding, trust and connection with clients.