Visa in Europe
Visa Europe operates a European payment
system. We are constantly working at the forefront of technology to
introduce new, easier, and more secure payment options for our
members and their customers across Europe.
Our products, services, and innovations meet the specific needs
of our stakeholders – that’s European payment service providers,
retailers, businesses, and consumers. In particular, we’re working
with our European members to create a larger, more open, dynamic,
and competitive electronic payments market.
View the video to see how mobile phones have been turned into
contactless payment devices.
Europe's payment providers have traditionally operated a
patchwork of distinct national payment infrastructures. However, it
is universally accepted that everyone – payment providers,
retailers, businesses, and cardholders – would benefit from a more
open and consistent European payments market.
Creating an Internal Market for payments has been an objective
of the European Commission for many years. Consequently, it
introduced various initiatives over the past years such as
Regulation 2560/2001 (now Regulation 924/2009) (Charges for
cross-border payments in euro), the Financial Services Action Plan
and, most recently, the Payment Services Directive (PSD).
The PSD is a new legal framework for payments which came into
force on 1 November 2009 and has now been implemented in most EU
Member States.
The Directive regulates most aspects of payment services on a
European level, such as who can provide payment services,
transparency, disputes, and liability.
See our online resources about the Single Euro
Payments Area (SEPA)