BVR, DZ BANK and WGZ BANK sign co-branding agreement on V PAY with Visa Europe
Cooperative bank group allows competition through cooperation with Visa Europe in German debit card market
Frankfurt, 13 December 2006
DZ BANK, WGZ BANK and the National association of German cooperative banks (BVR) have reached a groundbreaking agreement with Visa on the issuance of the new debit card V PAY.The Cooperative banking group supports the introduction of more competition, with immediate effect, through the co-branding of electronic cash and V PAY on the debit cards for Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken (VR-BankCards). The central banks of the Cooperative bank group, DZ Bank and WGZ Bank, will enable their partner banks to also issue payment cards co-branded with electronic cash and V PAY.
This agreement between DZ BANK, WGZ BANK, BVR and Visa Europe is an important step towards the realisation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). The cooperation between the cooperative banking group with Visa Europe brings competition within the co-branding of debit card programmes within European payment card organisations for the first time. The members of the Cooperative bank group now have another co-branding alternative for their debit card business.
DZ BANK and WGZ BANK, as representatives of the cooperative banking group, will open up their technical card payment processing to enable the issuance of V PAY as the first banking group in Germany - along with their technical partners CardProcess, DG VERLAG, GAD and FIDUCIA IT.
"We are delighted to announce that the cooperative banking group in Germany have made the decision to introduce V PAY as an alternative in the debit card business," said Peter Ayliffe, President and CEO of Visa Europe. "This is a truly historic decision for payments in Germany and in Europe. The agreement underlines the fact that V PAY meets the needs of German banks in their move towards SEPA. We are convinced that other banking groups will follow the lead of the Cooperative banks. We look forward to celebrating the first mass issuing of V PAY cards in Germany during 2008."
"The choice of a V PAY co-branding means, for our members, that customer service and profitability in the debit card business can be combined in the future," said Hubertus Piel, member of the board of the BVR. "Alongside the activities of the German cards industry, in the context of the electronic cash scheme and the implementation of the Euro Alliance of Payment Schemes, the cooperation with Visa Europe is another important building block within the SEPA strategy of the Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken. We greatly welcome the competition of different solutions."
"Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken now have another alternative in their debit card business with V PAY. With this, there is true competition between the international payment scheme providers in the debit card business for the first time. This will have positive consequences for consumer choice," said Dietrich Voigtlaender, member of the board of the DZ BANK AG.
"For the WGZ BANK, the expansion of the cooperation with Visa Europe to include the debit card business and the necessary adaptations of the technical systems are a further consequence to prepare our member banks to be as flexible as possible for the changes coming up in the context of SEPA," said Thomas Ulrich, board member of WGZ BANK. "With the extension of competition in the European debit card business, the market position of our member banks as card issuers is strengthened."
"V PAY is the first card specifically designed to meet the needs of SEPA", Peter Ayliffe added. "Based on chip and PIN technology, V PAY is fully secure and through its very competitive pricing will be a highly cost-efficient way for European banks to make SEPA happen for the benefit of consumers and retailers."
To ensure European control, Visa Europe established a V PAY Steering Committee earlier in 2006, with an inaugural meeting held in Frankfurt. Several major German institutions are represented on the board to oversee the development of V PAY, and a V PAY Deutschland Board has also been established to enable local management of V PAY in Germany.
The Visa European press office only deals with media enquiries relating to the organization's activities in the region. Journalists should email: europeanmedia@visa.com
