Visa Inc. and Visa Europe have reunited! The two companies originated from the same Visa that started as a pilot program in 1958, but have operated as separate entities since Visa Inc. became a public company in 2008. Earlier today, Visa Inc. announced it has completed the acquisition of Visa Europe, creating a global company positioned to serve clients around the globe with a more seamless experience and providing them with the latest innovation in payment technology, products and services.
“Now is the best time to bring the scale and resources of Visa Inc. to our clients in Europe,” said Nicolas Huss, Group Executive of Visa’s Europe region, at a company gathering in Paddington. “Against a backdrop of a changing global payments landscape there is no better time to come together as one company with greater depth, strength, and scale.”
As a combined, global company we enable more than $6.5 trillion in global payments volume annually, by providing 17,000 financial institution clients and partners, 40 million merchants, and 2.9 billion Visa accounts worldwide, with digital payment products, services and processing.
With an estimated US$3.3 trillion in consumer purchases across Europe still settled in cash and check, Visa has an opportunity to enable growth in digital commerce. We have already made significant strides by developing innovative digital solutions for a new generation of consumers who are increasingly relying on mobile devices to make everyday purchases.
Visa Checkout, our online payment service is a great example of the progress we have made. It is available in 16 countries and brings the security and convenience of the Visa card to the digital world. We are also making payments with mobile wallets more convenient and secure through the Visa Token Service, the security technology that replaces the consumer payment account number with a unique digital identifier. And fast, secure person-to person payments are now possible through Visa Direct, allowing consumers to send money to each other or to a merchant. This is especially important for consumers and merchants in emerging markets that lack traditional point-of-sale infrastructure.
As One Visa we will be in an even stronger position to innovate, to partner with merchants, financial institutions and technology companies, and enable a world that is increasingly relying on mobile technology to pay and get paid. And without question, we will continue to focus on our clients’ local needs while also bringing global expertise and scale.
Charlie Scharf