Visa Europe confirms launch date for V.me digital
wallet
WorldPay announced as key UK development
partner
London, 30 April 2012 — Visa Europe today
confirms that its new digital wallet service, V.me by Visa, will launch to an initial group
of consumers in the UK, Spain and
France in autumn 2012.
Today also sees the announcement of payments processor WorldPay
as a key development partner in the delivery of the V.me service in
the UK. Further development and launch partners in each market,
including banks and retailers, will be announced soon.
The service will be made available through Visa’s member banks
and will initially be accessed through the internet browser on a
PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Consumers will be able to put
multiple cards into the wallet.
For retailers, it offers the opportunity to streamline the
customer checkout process, driving up conversion rates and shopper
satisfaction.
Mariano Dima, Executive Vice President of Product and Marketing
Solutions at Visa Europe, said: "V.me sits at the heart of Visa’s
future of payments. For the first time, consumers and retailers
will have a streamlined online checkout experience through an
acceptance mark that offers industry-leading security and, when a
Visa card is used in a V.me wallet, the same protection and rights
that come with any Visa card transaction.
"Our intention is that V.me will ultimately be able to
incorporate any or all of our new payment technologies, allowing
our members to deliver the best possible payments experience
whether face-to-face, online or in a mobile environment. This
comprehensive service suite, delivered under the V.me umbrella,
will offer an easy way to benefit from the scale, security and
reliability of Visa."
WorldPay is providing commercial and propositional insights to
ensure that V.me is designed with a focus on meeting retailer needs
and expectations.
Phillip McGriskin, Chief Product Officer at WorldPay, adds:
"Shoppers are driving the demand for more convenient, secure and
safe ways to pay online. V.me is being developed specifically to
address those needs. WorldPay has partnered with Visa Europe to
ensure the proposition matches merchant requirements and is an
attractive and practical digital wallet solution in what is fast
becoming a crowded marketplace."
E-commerce currently represents 22% of Visa Europe’s
transactions and grew 44% between 2009 and 2011. The V.me digital
wallet service is the natural next step in the development of
Visa’s e-commerce strategy.
V.me plays a key part in Visa Europe’s future of payments
strategy, reflecting the company’s continued commitment to payments
innovation and to bringing new services to market that benefit its
members and retailers.
About Visa Europe
In Europe, there are 445 million Visa debit, credit and
commercial cards. In the 12 months ending September 2011 those
cards were used to make purchases and cash withdrawals to the value
of €1.7 trillion. 14% of consumer spending at point of sale in
Europe is with a Visa card, and almost 80% of that is on Visa debit
cards.
Visa Europe is owned and operated by more than 3,700 European
member banks and was incorporated in July 2004. Visa Europe is
independent of global Visa Inc., with an exclusive, irrevocable and
perpetual licence in Europe, while both companies operate to ensure
global interoperability. As a dedicated European payment system
Visa Europe 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 www.visaeurope.com