- The Philippines just joined an exclusive club.
- Visa and Garmin have officially launched Garmin Pay in the Philippines — making the country the fourth market in Southeast Asia to support smartwatch payments, after Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.
- Starting June 3, 2026, Filipinos with compatible Garmin smartwatches can tap their wrist to pay at any contactless-enabled terminal in the country. No phone. No wallet. No cash. Just your watch.
The Philippines just joined an exclusive club.
Visa and Garmin have officially launched Garmin Pay in the Philippines — making the country the fourth market in Southeast Asia to support smartwatch payments, after Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Starting June 3, 2026, Filipinos with compatible Garmin smartwatches can tap their wrist to pay at any contactless-enabled terminal in the country. No phone. No wallet. No cash. Just your watch.
What is Garmin Pay and how does it work?
Cardholders of eligible Visa debit and credit cards issued by participating banks in the Philippines can now add their cards to Garmin Pay on their compatible Garmin smartwatches. This new feature enables Garmin users to make secure, seamless payments from their smartwatch at any contactless-enabled terminal in the Philippines, advancing payments digitalization while giving cardholders peace of mind with every tap.
Garmin Pay runs on Visa's tokenization technology, which replaces sensitive card details with unique digital tokens. This helps keep transactions safe and reduces the risk of fraud. You can use it anywhere that accepts contactless Visa payments, whether you are buying coffee, groceries, or gear after a workout.
In plain terms: your card number never actually travels with the payment. Instead, Visa issues a unique digital token for each transaction. Even if a terminal is compromised, the token is useless to a fraudster. It is the same technology that powers Google Pay and Apple Pay — now available on your Garmin watch.
Which Philippine banks are supported at launch?
Enabled Visa debit and credit cards include those from EastWest Bank and GoTyme Bank, as well as other foreign-issued Visa cards supported by Garmin Pay.
Two Philippine banks at launch. GoTyme Bank is one of them.
For KKB community members who hold a GoTyme Visa debit card — you can add it to Garmin Pay today. That means your GoTyme card, which already works with Google Pay and earns Go Rewards points on every tap, now works on your wrist too.
EastWest Bank Visa cardholders are also supported — covering EastWest credit and debit cards issued on the Visa network.
More banks are expected to join the Garmin Pay ecosystem over time. Garmin's official bank list at garmin.com/garminpay/banks is the authoritative reference for updates.
How to set up Garmin Pay on your GoTyme or EastWest Visa card.
Download or update the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone. Go to the Garmin Pay section under your user profile. Add your eligible GoTyme or EastWest Visa card. Set up your four-digit passcode for Garmin Pay. Tap your watch at any contactless-enabled terminal — look for the contactless symbol at the payment terminal. The setup takes under five minutes. After that, paying at the counter is a wrist tap away.
The Philippines is becoming genuinely cashless — faster than most people expected. In 2019, only 10% of retail transactions were digital. By 2024, the share of online payments in monthly retail transactions stood at 57.4% in terms of volume and 59% in value terms, up from 52.8% and 55.3% in 2023. The BSP's target is 60% to 70% by 2028.