Visa Europe launches the V PAY card in Italy with the support of the consumer association Federconsumatori
Key Italian banks including Capitalia, ICCREA Banca, Banca Sella, Banca Carige, Gruppo Banca Popolare Emilia Romagna set to launch before the end of 2007
Milan, 25 April 2007
V PAY, the new pan European debit card created by Visa Europe, has been launched in Italy. The first issuing banks are Capitalia, ICCREA Banca, Banca Sella, Banca Carige, Gruppo Banca Popolare Emilia Romagna and they will start issuing cards to cardholders before the end of 2007.
V PAY, the European chip and PIN only card will allow cardholders to pay for their shopping and withdraw cash securely in Italy and across Europe. V PAY is already accepted at 3.75 million point-of-sale terminals and over 210,000 ATMs across Europe – and the acceptance rate is expected to increase as V PAY signage is displayed at all key merchants.
The new card uses the same chip technology that banks and merchants have already developed and is fully compliant with the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) requirements of the European Commission.
The V PAY brand will be added to the Bancomat/Pagobancomat national debit scheme and Italian cardholders will be able to carry out transactions all over Europe, protected from fraud by chip and PIN technology.
“We are delighted to announce the introduction of V PAY in Italy,” said Peter Ayliffe, president and chief executive of Visa Europe. “The decision of the five banks to issue V PAY underlines the fact that it meets the needs of Italian banks and their move towards SEPA. We are convinced that other banks will recognise the benefits and follow soon.”
Davide Steffanini, general manager of the Visa Europe office in Italy commented, “Thanks to the agreements we have reached with these Visa Europe member banks in Italy, V PAY cards will be the first fully SEPA compliant debit card available in the country and will make payments within Europe easier and safer all over Europe.”
“Research we have carried out clearly shows that people are worried about fraud which means they are sometimes reluctant to use payment cards. As V PAY is chip and PIN only, it is an ideal tool to prevent fraud and also an ideal way to encourage people to pay safely for low value transactions,“ Steffanini concluded.
Francesco Avallone, vice president of Federconsumatori, an Italian consumer group commented, “We are delighted that this new product is being introduced in Italy. It will grant banks’ customers more security, simplicity and the ability to pay all over Europe while enjoying the same economic conditions as in Italy. We are sure this product will help the development of a strong European payment market. V PAY makes pan-European payments safer and more transparent which will increase card usage across the region and benefit all consumers by optimising operation processes.”
To show its commitment to the central role of banks in the development of SEPA and of the single payment market, Visa Europe set up the V PAY Steering Committee (VPSC) in 2006, which includes representation from leading European banks.
The V PAY Italian Board, formed with the Italian banks, started its activities from March 2007, taking responsibility for the development and roll out of V PAY in Italy.
Notes
V PAY:
- V PAY is the new debit card issued by Visa, designed for issue and use across Europe in compliance with the SEPA Cards Framework
- V PAY can automatically be accepted at any EMV chip and PIN terminal. It is chip-only, with no fallback to magnetic stripe to cut fraud
- V PAY can co-exist with any domestic-branded national debit card scheme, it is compatible with all European bank account numbering structures, and it can support other debit card applications such as electronic purse products and loyalty schemes
- V PAY is currently accepted at 3.75 million point-of-sale terminals and 210,000 ATMs in 21 countries
- V PAY is available with the PLUS programme that allows cardholders to access to cash through one of the world’s largest ATM networks
About Visa Europe
In Europe, there are nearly 321 million Visa debit, credit and commercial cards. In the 12 months ending September 2006, those cards were used to make purchases and cash withdrawals to the value of over €1.2 trillion. For every €9 spent in Europe today, €1 is spent on a Visa card.
Visa Europe is a membership association - an organisation owned and operated by its 4,500 European member banks. As a dedicated European organisation 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 Europe is a part owner of Visa International, the organisation that ensures global interoperability of products as well as management of the Visa brand.
In October 2006, Visa announced that it intends to restructure its entire worldwide organisation except Europe in order to create a new public global corporation called Visa Inc. As a part of this restructuring, Visa Europe will remain a membership association with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual license in Europe.
Globally Visa is one of the world’s leading payment brands and has unsurpassed acceptance at approximately 24 million acceptance locations including one million ATMs.
For more information, visit www.visaeurope.com.
