Visa Europe to Spend $225 Million on Digital Technologies

Card network, Visa Europe hasannounced that it intends to invest more than €200 ($225) million in newpayment technologies to accelerate the growth of digital payments. According toVisa Europe, gross revenues grew 9% year-on-year to €1.9 ($2.14) billion withprofits of €344 ($388) million which represents a €80 ($90) million increaseover last year.

In terms of payments, Visa Europereports there are now more than 500 million Visa cards in circulation and onefifth of these are contactless enabled cards. The total amount accessed throughall Visa cards, including ATM transactions, rose to over €2 ($2.26) trillionaccording to the card network.

Nicolas Huss, chief executiveofficer of Visa Europe believes that 2015 will be a defining year for digitalpayments. In a statement Huss said, “We will further eat away at the 70% oftransactions that are still settled in cash in Europe. We will make use of theabundance of digital technology that now surrounds us to enable new digitalpayment solutions. And, most importantly, we will deliver an even betterquality of service to retailers and consumers alike by making payment simpler,smarter and more secure than ever before. At Visa Europe, we’re investing morethan €200m a year in new payments technologies. If retailers invest just afraction of their savings, we can truly work together to make a leap forward inimproving the consumer experience.”

With new regulation expected tocap interchange fees in the near future, the traditional card based model maynot be suitable for much longer. Thus the investment of more than €200 ($225)million in digital technologies will only serve to boost Visa Europe’sprospects in the future.

Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payments

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