Visa Europe and PaySquare conduct first V PAY transaction in the Netherlands
Amsterdam, Octotber 25, 2007
Visa Europe and Dutch acquirer PaySquare today announced the first V PAY transaction in the Netherlands.
Photo store CAPI - better known as one of the 'See Buy Fly' shops - at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam was the scene of the first V PAY transaction in the Netherlands. Acquirer PaySquare choose CAPI for this point-of-sale transaction because of the many European cardholders who will soon have a V PAY card. After entering the PIN code, Michiel Wielhouwer, General Manager BeNeLux at Visa Europe, and PaySquare completed the transaction successfully. CCV was the supplier of the point-of-sale terminal.
V PAY, the European chip and PIN only card will allow cardholders to pay for their shopping and withdraw cash securely by using their PIN code in the Netherlands and across Europe. Visa developed V PAY especially for the European market; it is tailored to the needs of European banks and consumers and is specifically designed to meet the payment requirements of Europe in the SEPA era. Already four million point-of-sale terminals and over 250,000 ATMs across Europe are ready to accept V PAY.
Michiel Wielhouwer said: "This is an important step towards creating the V PAY reality across Europe and especially in the Netherlands. Today already 22 banks have committed to issue V PAY across the continent and cardholders from around Europe will be able to use their V PAY cards in the Netherlands with the same security and convenience as in their own country. We are pleased that PaySquare is the acquiring partner for this first V PAY transaction in the Netherlands because of their importance on the Dutch acquiring market."
Jeroen Jungerius, Manager Marketing & Sales Acquiring at PaySquare, said: "We think V PAY is an important SEPA compliant product and as one of the largest acquirers in the BeNeLux region we want to provide our customers with the most popular payment brands. V PAY will be one of them, and we our proud to say we can deliver as of today."
Visa Europe has cooperated closely with the Dutch card issuers to help establish V PAY in the Dutch market. Contributing to the creation of a well-functioning European payments market is one of Visa Europe's top priorities and with the development of V PAY as a true pan-European debit product, Visa Europe is demonstrating its commitment to making SEPA a reality across the region. Visa Europe has been compliant with the SEPA Cards Framework principles since the beginning of 2007.
V PAY facts
- V PAY is always secure chip transactions which ensure that skimming of the card is not possible. V PAY payments domestic and abroad are always done through confirmation with a unique PIN code.
- 20 million V PAY cards have already been committed to issue by 22 banks in 8 markets: Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France Bulgaria and Netherlands;
- 4 million merchants across Europe already accept V PAY;
- 250,000 ATMs accept V PAY across Europe
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 - 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.
For more information, please visit www.visa.nl
About PaySquare
PaySquare is the Dutch specialist partner for the acceptance and issue of international means of payment. On the acceptance market PaySquare is one of the largest players in the Benelux, offering Visa, V PAY, MasterCard, Maestro, JCB, China UnionPay, and - thanks to a unique alliance - American Express. This means that businesses only have to deal with one organisation for acceptance of all these products, making PaySquare the first card organisation in the BeNeLux to offer such variety in international and SEPA-compliant means of payment.
PaySquare also issues both Visa credit cards and MasterCards, on its own account and in partnership with other organisations.
More information about PaySquare can be found on www.paysquare.nl/en.
About CCV
CCV is an international company with subsidiaries throughout Europe. The company is a specialist in payment terminals, processing and authorizing financial and loyalty transactions and the development and maintenance of loyalty and customer card systems.
Since July 2007 CCV can also process PIN (Dutch brand) payment transactions thus enabling the company to offer a total solution to their customers.
Based on advanced technology CCV offers both standard products and customized solutions. The terminals and software are developed by CCV-engineers. CCV has a back up data centre which ensures a seamless switch covering all eventualities.
A service centre and a country wide team guarantee a high level support. CCV Holland B.V. was founded in 1958 and located in Arnhem, the Netherlands. For more information: www.ccv.nl.
Contact details:
Visa Europe press office
Tel: +44 (0)20 7795 5463
E-mail: europeanmedia@visa.com
