Visa Europe's new manifesto seals its full commitment to the single market for payments in Europe

BRUSSELS, 2 April 2008

1% increase in Visa Europe’s share of payments would save Europeans approximately €800m
V PAY beating targets – banks already committed to issue 30m cards
Accelerating cash displacement – Visa Europe targets €1 in €5 by 2015

Today Visa Europe launched a Manifesto that sets out its full commitment to the single European market for payments. Two weeks after Visa Inc. was floated on the New York Stock Exchange, the Manifesto embodies Visa Europe’s independent credentials and its continuation as an association owned by 4,600 European banks.

Download the manifesto:

The Visa Europe Manifesto (PDF 0.5MB)

Peter Ayliffe, Visa Europe President and CEO, said: "Owned, governed and controlled by Europeans in Europe for Europe, we have the means, the motives and the opportunity to invest in the payment innovations Europe needs. Already more than €1 in €9 of consumer expenditure is paid with a Visa card, most of it with debit cards, and by 2015 we want to displace inefficient cash payments so that €1 in every €5 is on a Visa card.

"The Manifesto outlines our vision for a larger, more efficient, more competitive single market in Europe and the role we intend to play within it. We urge all stakeholders to acknowledge Visa Europe’s unique credentials – and to regard us as a true strategic partner in realising the SEPA vision. Accelerating the transition from cash to more efficient Visa card payments benefits everyone; approximately, for every 1% increase in Visa Europe’s share of personal expenditure, the European economy saves around €800m a year."

Visa Europe’s unique membership-owned association structure enables it to fully realise the European Union’s ambitions for a Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), as it enters a fundamental period with the migration towards SEPA, the implementation of the Payment Services Directive, and the roll-out of chip and PIN technology.

In this rapidly changing environment, the Visa Europe Manifesto makes the following pledges to European consumers, retailers, member banks and regulators.

To be the leading European payments brand
We commit to investing in our brand in order to help our member banks to drive higher levels of payment card spending. The importance of brands within the payments market should not be underestimated. They engender trust and confidence for all participants which, in turn, translates to higher levels of card issuance, activation and usage.
To drive SEPA-compliant debit cards as a key tool to reduce cash usage
Our SEPA-compliant debit products – Visa Debit, Visa Electron V PAY – our chip and PIN-only European debit solution – brings more choice and competition to European banks. It helps banks to comply with the SEPA requirements. All V PAY transactions are secured by the latest generation of EMV chip technology – which is cheaper for banks to operate, easier for merchants to accept, and safer for cardholders to use.
To invest in fully unbundled European processing platforms
Following investment in Visa Authorisation, our new European transaction switching platform, Visa Europe will launch a new regional clearing and settlement platform. In addition, Visa Europe commits to keeping its payment system and its processing services fully unbundled. There is an “at arms length” relationship between the two. And member banks have complete freedom to choose when and how they use the respective services.
To invest in and roll-out a complete, SEPA-compliant product portfolio
We have always been strongly supportive of the SEPA vision, and will continue to move quickly to accommodate its principles across all of our products, prices and processes. Examples include V PAY, the first card exclusively designed to be SEPA compliant, but also Visa payWave, our contactless payment solution.
To fuel the innovation of European payments
Visa Europe will look to spearhead major strategic initiatives, bringing benefits to all participants. In addition, we will work with member banks on a pipeline of new ‘‘plug and play’’ initiatives. One recent example is our new mobile prepaid virtual card, which combines the inclusiveness of the prepaid card with the ubiquity of the mobile phone.
To maintain an uncompromising commitment to security
At Visa Europe our vision is to be the world’s most trusted currency. Visa Europe will maximise investments in EMV chip technology, which is safer for cardholders to use. We were prime movers behind Europe’s migration to EMV chip and led the way in securing the internet. Security has also been a prime consideration in the development of our European processing platforms.

Today Visa Europe also announced that European banks have now committed to issue 30 million V PAY cards, up from 20 million in December 2007, and is on target for 40 million cards by the end of 2008. Major issuance commitments have been secured in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland. There are already 250,000 V PAY cards in circulation, and this is set to rise to 2m by the end of 2008.

- ends -

About Visa Europe
In Europe, there are over 348 million Visa debit, credit and commercial cards. In the 12 months ending September 2007, those cards were used to make purchases and cash withdrawals to the value of over €1.3 trillion. 11.4% of consumer spending at point of sale in Europe is with a Visa card.

Visa Europe is a membership association - an organisation owned and operated by its 4,600 European member banks – that 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 170 countries.

Contact details:

Visa Europe press office
Tel: +44 (0)20 7795 5463
E-mail: europeanmedia@visa.com