Ownership and licence

Visa Europe was incorporated in July 2004 and was owned and operated by its 4,600 European member banks. In October 2007 it became independent of the new global Visa Inc., holding an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence for Europe.

As a dedicated European payment system, it could respond quickly to the market needs of European banks and their customers, both cardholders and retailers, and to the European Commission's objective of creating a true internal market for payments. Visa cards were accepted worldwide, and Visa/PLUS was one of the largest global ATM networks, offering cash in local currency in over 170 countries.

European focus

• Visa Europe was committed to the goals of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), in particular the ability to use card payments across Europe with a consistent experience.
• Visa Europe confirmed in January 2007 that all its products complied with the SEPA Cards Framework principles, a full year ahead of the deadline set by the European Payments Council.
• Visa Europe treated Europe as a distinct market, commercially, culturally and politically, and employed around 1,000 people drawn from nearly all of its 36 European markets.

Management

• Peter Ayliffe was President and CEO, responsible for the Visa business in 36 countries.
• More than 70% of the business was in debit, directly connected to the current accounts held by the member banks, which gave those members a direct interest in how the company was run.
• Members were represented by 17 non-executive directors, each a board-level employee of their own organisation, elected from member banks across Europe.
• The board was chaired by Jan Lidén, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Swedish bank FöreningsSparbanken.
• The Executive Management Committee was the senior internal decision-making body, meeting regularly and reporting to the board.

Products and services

Consumer products

The portfolio ran from basic ATM cash cards to debit and credit cards with a full range of benefits and services: Visa Classic, Visa Gold, Visa Platinum, Visa Infinite, Visa Electron, PLUS and V PAY, then a new European debit product. Prepaid issuance had grown significantly over the preceding twelve months, both as a gift card and as a product for people without a bank account.

Contactless payments were presented as the faster way to make everyday purchases with a Visa chip card instead of cash. Visa payWave was the contactless alternative to cash for low-value transactions, and Visa took part in the O2 mobile wallet trial in London.

Visa Commercial

Visa Business, Visa Corporate, Visa Purchasing, Visa Distribution, Visa Commerce and the Visa Government Procurement Card were aimed at buying office supplies, managing travel and entertainment expenses, controlling employee spending limits, meeting cash flow needs, reducing operational expenses and tracking business expenses. The products could be tailored to any business segment, from the multinational corporation to the sole proprietor and national governments.

Member services

Visa provided technology-related services to its member banks, including the processing of card transactions, fraud and risk-control systems, and international cardholder assistance services.

Processing

Visa Europe Processing was the largest inter-bank card processor in Europe, owned and operated in Europe by Visa Europe, with a fully SEPA-compliant European transaction switching platform. Visa Europe described it as the most technically advanced, the fastest, at four times the speed of its competitors, and the cheapest processing system in Europe.

Member countries

Visa Europe's member institutions came from 36 European countries.

The headquarters were in London, with local offices in Athens, Brussels, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm and Warsaw.