The collaboration will explore open network principles, trusted commerce and digital innovation for richer tourism discovery
In a move to enhance tourism discovery and digital commerce experiences in India, payments firm Visa and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an e-commerce platform, have announced their intent to explore a collaboration at the Global Fintech Festival 2026, bringing together Visa’s digital commerce expertise and ONDC’s open network infrastructure.
In a press statement, Visa says that the initiative will explore ways to make tourism discovery more seamless and accessible, helping travellers connect with destinations, experiences, itineraries and local businesses across India.
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The statement adds that the collaboration will also explore open network principles, trusted commerce and digital innovation to create richer tourism discovery experiences, connect travellers with local businesses and destinations, and support tourism participation across regions and local economies in India.
“India has taken a very futuristic approach in terms of how we can digitally connect people, and that is on open networks. When a global Indian is travelling out, or when somebody is coming from overseas, you are really looking for places where you can discover the experiences you can get in India. We also see that a lot of agents are now being used to curate and create journeys, helping people discover experiences. India has its own home grown digital public infrastructure creating opportunities for digital commerce, and we realise that tourism can be a very important asset where ONDC can serve as the digital infrastructure for tourism in the country,” says Suresh Sethi, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa.
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“Everything related to tourism, whether discovering experiences, cities or travel itineraries, as well as small and medium businesses of the ecosystem can potentially be housed in one place. ONDC brings the trust of a home grown India digital public infrastructure, while Visa brings trusted discovery experiences. The two coming together can create a superlative experience for anybody looking at coming to India as a destination. We are delighted to be exploring this opportunity with ONDC,” he added.
“At ONDC, our North Star is creating markets for sellers and choice for buyers, whether it is in retail, financial services, logistics or tourism. We have facilitated more than 500 million lifetime transactions and continue to expand the network across sectors. Tourism is an important opportunity for us. We have support from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to help build the tourism track and help drive tourism in the country. But you also need strong demand-side participation. We are very keen to work with Visa to see what we can do together to make that happen and help connect travellers with the diverse experiences that India has to offer,” says Hrushikesh Mehta, Chief Business Officer, Financial Services, ONDC.
