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Visa

Visa Europe is a payments business.

By making payments easier, we bring more speed, security and simplicity to consumers, retailers and businesses, banks, other payment service providers and governments.

Visa Europe is a not-for-profit membership association, wholly owned, controlled and operated by more than 4,000 members – banks and other payment service providers, from 36 countries across Europe.

We don't issue cards. We don't sign up retailers. We don't decide cardholder or retailer fees. All this is done by the banks and other payment service providers who are members of Visa Europe.

We provide the brand, systems, services and rules that help make electronic payments between millions of European consumers, retailers and businesses and governments happen.

Our role is to connect the four groups in the transaction process:

• Issuers – the banks and other payment service providers that issue Visa cards to their customers
• Acquirers – the banks and other payment service providers that sign up retailers to accept Visa payments
• Cardholders – the people who use Visa cards to make fast, secure electronic payments
• Retailers – the businesses that accept Visa cards, benefiting from increased speed, efficiency and security, as well as guaranteed payment.

In the UK, there are 110 million Visa cards, of which over 80% are debit cards.

In the 12 months ending December 2010, the 427 million Visa debit, credit and commercial cards in Europe were used to make purchases and cash withdrawals to the value of €1.6 trillion. 12.5% of consumer spending at point of sale in Europe is with a Visa card (€1 in every €8).

Please view information on the Visa Contactless Barometer

For more information please visit www.visaeurope.com or contact us.

Visa

Visa

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