Tokyo, Japan, July 2026 — Visa has appointed Arturo Planell as Senior Vice President & Group Country Manager – Japan, Korea and Mongolia, where he will lead the company’s strategy, growth, client relationships, and market performance across three of Asia’s most dynamic payments markets.
In his new role, Planell will be responsible for driving Visa’s business across Japan, Korea, and Mongolia by strengthening partnerships with financial institutions, merchants, regulators, and technology partners while accelerating digital payments innovation, AI-enabled commerce, and next-generation money movement solutions across the region.
Prior to this appointment, Planell served as Senior Vice President – Group Country Manager, Regional Southeast Asia, Global Seller Management & Digital Sales, based in Singapore, where he led regional growth initiatives and commercial strategy across Southeast Asia.
Earlier, he served as Senior Vice President – Group Country Manager, Andean Region, leading Visa’s operations across Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela. During this period, he was responsible for regional business strategy, governance, digital transformation, talent management, stakeholder engagement, ESG initiatives, and market expansion across the Andean markets.
Before leading the Andean Region, Planell was Country Manager for Peru, where he oversaw all aspects of Visa’s business, including client relationships, fintech partnerships, regulatory engagement, product strategy, marketing, risk management, and business development. Prior to Peru, he served as Country Manager for Myanmar, leading Visa’s market expansion during one of the country’s most significant phases of digital payments growth.
His earlier leadership journey at Visa included several strategic regional positions in Singapore, including Senior Business Development Leader – Corporate Strategy & M&A (Southeast Asia), Senior Business Development Leader – Global Solutions (Asia Pacific), and Senior Director – Enterprise Risk Management Market Intelligence & Advisory Services (Asia Pacific), where he helped shape regional strategy, payment partnerships, enterprise risk management, market intelligence, and cross-border growth initiatives.
Planell also held the position of Director – Global Enterprise Risk Management Analytics at Visa in San Francisco, where he developed the company’s global risk analytics capabilities and enterprise-wide risk governance framework. Earlier, he served as Senior Financial Analyst – Global Credit Risk, assessing financial institutions, sovereign risk, mergers and acquisitions, and global credit exposures across Visa’s international markets.
Before joining Visa, Planell built his financial services career with Banca Mediolanum as Equity Research Associate, Comerica Bank as Credit Analyst, Commonwealth Foreign Exchange as Junior Account Executive, and Merrill Lynch as Research Associate Intern, gaining early experience in investment research, corporate banking, credit analysis, and financial markets.
With more than two decades at Visa and extensive international leadership experience across North America, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and now Northeast Asia, Arturo Planell brings deep expertise in digital payments, business transformation, market expansion, strategic partnerships, enterprise risk, and financial services. His appointment underscores Visa’s continued investment in accelerating innovation and strengthening its leadership position across Japan, Korea, and Mongolia.
About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a global leader in digital payments, facilitating secure transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and governments across more than 200 countries and territories. Through its innovative payment technologies, global network, and commitment to secure and inclusive commerce, Visa enables individuals, businesses, and economies worldwide to thrive in an increasingly digital world.
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