Visa Europe Board declares SEPA Compliance

All Visa products will be SEPA compliant one year ahead of the 2008 implementation deadline

Brussels, 30 May 2006

At their meeting on 24 May 2006, the Visa Europe Board of Directors unanimously confirmed that all products will be in compliance with the SEPA Cards Framework (SCF) principles by the end of this year. This means that that its products will be SCF compliant by 1 January, 2007, a full year ahead of the implementation deadline of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) as defined by the European Payments Council (EPC).

Peter Ayliffe, President and CEO of Visa Europe, said: "Contributing to the creation of a well-functioning European payments market is one of our top priorities. We have an important responsibility - towards our member banks, as well as their customers. Board ratification follows a rigorous internal audit of the current processes and documentation of the changes that will be necessary for all Visa Europe products to become SCF compliant. With the full implementation of all SEPA principles, Visa Europe has once more demonstrated its commitment to this key European objective."

Visa Europe is already compliant with the vast majority of the SCF requirements as adopted by the EPC on 8 March 2006. In the course of 2006, Visa Europe will make the final changes to implement all remaining principles:

A single pricing structure for all intra-SEPA transactions
Freedom of choice of the processing system for all Visa transactions
Active participation in the standardisation activities planned by the EPC
Cooperation, where possible with other SCF compliant payment schemes to fight against fraud

The realisation of SEPA is high on the agenda of the European banking community and policy makers, the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB).

Visa Europe is fully committed to helping its member banks achieve the ambitious timetable for the SEPA project, thus enabling the European Commission to realise its vision of a single payment market.

The Visa European press office only deals with media enquiries relating to the organisation's activities in the region. Journalists should email: europeanmedia@visa.com