€510m TO BE SPENT ONLINE ON VISA CARDS
ACROSS EUROPE ON ‘MEGA MONDAY’
Over 4,800 transactions set to take place every minute
on Visa cards
London, 28 November 2011 Monday 28 November is
set to be the busiest ever day for online shopping across Europe,
according to analysis by Visa Europe. The payments technology
company expects more than €510 million to be spent online by
consumers with their Visa cards, the majority (80%) of which will
be spent on debit cards.
Shoppers will spend an average of €350,000 every minute, with
transactions forecast to peak in the lunch hour between 13:00 and
14:00. A second peak is expected around 19:00 as shoppers log on
after returning home from work.
Visa Europe’s processing platform is predicted to handle almost
7 million transactions across Europe during Mega Monday alone or
4,800 every minute as consumers increasingly turn to the internet
for their Christmas shopping.
Dr Steve Perry, Commercial Director at Visa Europe,
said:
“We predict that more than €510 million will be spent online on
Visa cards during Mega Monday across Europe, an increase of 14% on
2010. Online shopping accounts for a fifth of all spend on Visa
cards and the volume of transactions we process on a daily basis as
well as our historical trend data provide us with an incredible
insight into consumer spending patterns.”
The busiest High Street shopping day often falls two days before
Christmas day. Although Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday this
year, Visa Europe still believes the busiest day will be Friday
23rd December, as shoppers make the most of the extended shopping
hours and don’t risk leaving it too late before Christmas day.
Visa bases its predictions on up to the minute spending data and
previous years’ Christmas spending trends. Over €1 in every €8
spent in Europe is on a Visa card, making this data one of the most
reliable indicators of trends in consumer spending.
Visa Europe’s top tips for safe shopping
online
- Take the time to do your research before making a purchase from
a retailer you aren’t familiar with
- Look for e-commerce retailers that use ‘Verified by Visa’ for
added protection against card fraud online. ‘Verified by Visa’
ensures that both you and the retailer are genuine and protects
your card twice when shopping online
- Make sure you either save or print a record of your internet
transactions, including the retailer's website address
- Before buying, read the delivery and return policies that
should be on the retailer’s website
- Check contact details for the website and make sure they have a
contact telephone number
- If using a PC in a shared or public environment, always ensure
that you log off so that no one can access your personal
information
About Visa Europe
In Europe, there are 430 million Visa debit, credit and
commercial cards. In the 12 months ending March 2011 those cards
were used to make purchases and cash withdrawals to the value of
€1.6 trillion. 12.5% of consumer spending at point of sale in
Europe is with a Visa card, and more than 70% of that is on Visa
debit cards.
Visa Europe is owned and operated by more
than 4,000 European member banks and was incorporated in July 2004.
In October 2007, Visa Europe became independent of the new global
Visa Inc., with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in
Europe. As a dedicated European payment system it is able to
respond quickly to the specific market needs of European banks and
their customers - cardholders and retailers - and to meet the
European Commission’s objective to create a true internal market
for payments.
Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around
the world. In addition, Visa/PLUS is one of the world’s largest
global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in over
200 countries.
For more information, visit http://www.visaeurope.com/