MIAMI, United States — Visa has appointed Jorge Salum as vice-president and country manager for Greater Caribbean Markets, placing him in charge of an expanded regional structure covering 22 markets.

The newly created portfolio combines Visa’s northern and southern Caribbean operations, excluding Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Salum, who previously served as country manager for the southern Caribbean, will oversee Visa’s operations and relationships with financial institutions, merchants, fintech companies, governments and other partners across the expanded territory.

His former portfolio included the Dutch Caribbean, Guyana, Haiti, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and member states of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. He also led Visa’s business development team for the Caribbean and Central America.

Visa said the consolidated management structure comes as Caribbean markets increase their adoption of electronic payments and seek to expand financial inclusion, strengthen payment infrastructure and improve cross-border connectivity.

“The region is entering a new stage of digital payments transformation, where the focus is not only on expanding access, but on creating trusted, seamless and inclusive payment experiences,” Salum said.

He identified everyday commerce, small-business growth, tourism and public-sector modernisation among the areas likely to benefit from further development of the regional digital-payment ecosystem.

Salum succeeds Frank Gandarillas, who is retiring after leading Visa’s English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean operations for nearly three decades.

Gandarillas joined Visa in 1998 and most recently served as country manager for the Northern Caribbean, managing key relationships in markets including Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos.

Visa said Salum’s appointment is intended to support closer coordination across the region as the company seeks to deepen its partnerships and expand the use of secure digital-payment services.