Visa Europe

In Europe, there are over 390 million Visa debit, credit and commercial cards. In the 12 months ending December 2009 those cards were used to make purchases and cash withdrawals to the value of €1.4 trillion. 11.2% of consumer spending at point of sale in Europe is with a Visa card.

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.

European focus

Visa Europe is strongly committed to the goals of a Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA), in particular the ability for consumers to use card payments all across Europe and have a consistent experience doing so

Visa Europe confirmed in January 2007 that all its products were in compliance with the SEPA Cards Framework (SCF) principles since January 2007, a full year ahead of the implementation deadline set by the European Payments Council (EPC)

Europe is a distinct market – commercially, culturally and politically – and Visa Europe is a truly European payments organisation addressing these factors. Visa Europe has a unique business model backed up by around 1000 employees drawn from nearly all of its 36 European markets.

Products and services

Consumer Products: Visa has a complete portfolio of payment products to suit every bank customer – from basic ATM cash cards, through to debit and credit cards with a full range of benefits and services. These include Visa Classic, Visa Gold, Visa Platinum, Visa Infinite, Visa Electron, PLUS and now, V PAY, a new European debit product. Prepaid cards issuance has registered significant growth in the last 12 months, being a perfect idea as a gift card and being an ideal product for people who do not have a bank account.

Visa Commercial: Visa Commercial products Visa Business, Visa Corporate, Visa Purchasing, Visa Distribution, Visa Commerce and Visa Government Procurement Card provide an easy, convenient way to buy office supplies, manage travel and entertainment expenses, control employee spending limits, meet cash flow needs, reduce operational expenses, and track, monitor and control business expenses. Backed by Visa’s unsurpassed acceptance and utility, Visa commercial products and services can be tailored to meet the changing needs of every business segment — from the multinational corporation to the sole proprietor and national governments.

Member Services: Visa provides a range of technology-related services to its Member banks. These include the processing of card transactions various fraud and risk-control systems and international cardholder assistance services.

Processing: Visa Europe Processing is the largest inter-bank card processor in Europe. Owned and operated in Europe by Visa Europe, it has a fully SEPA compliant European transaction switching platform. It is also the most technically advanced, fastest (4 time faster than competition) and cheapest processing system in Europe.

Forum of the Visa Member Banks in Bulgaria

To answer the increasing interest toward the products and services which the company offers on the Bulgarian market, in December 2007 Visa Europe founded Forum of Visa member banks in Bulgaria. In the organization participate 16 banks which subsequently choose Executive committee of Visa Bulgaria, consisting of representative of seven Bulgarian banks and two representatives of Visa Europe. The Bulgarian representatives in the “Executive committee of Visa Bulgaria” are DSK Bank, First Investment Bank, United Bulgarian Bank, Central Cooperative Bank, Eurobank EFG Bulgaria, Pireos Bank and UniCredit BulBank.
The purpose of the Executive committee is to support the development of the Visa Europe commercial activity of in Bulgaria and the expansion of Bulgarian member banks’ business.

The Executive committee discusses the current issues concerning the work of Visa in Bulgaria, the tendencies in the development on the card market and the practices for frauds prevention. The Executive committee consults the management of Visa Europe for the programs, policies and the operations of Visa in Bulgaria and issues about the changes of the regulatory framework in Europe.

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