‘Multi-Currency’ to allow payments to be sent and received across borders, while ‘Immediate Payments’ enables money to be received in a matter of minutes
Visa Europe has made two additions to its mobile payments service, enabling consumers to make instant transactions from their handset to any Visa cardholder in Europe, in any European currency.
The Multi-Currency feature will be available before the end of the year and will allow for payments to be sent and received across borders. Visa said this will simplify what can be a complex and expensive process for those wishing to send money to someone in another European country.
Immediate Payments, which launches in the UK this week with other markets to follow this year, makes it possible for customers to receive money sent via Visa Personal Payments in minutes.
Visa Personal Payments is a services that enables any Visa credit or debit card, or prepaid card, to accept payments from another Visa card without needing to share account details.
Consumers need to be registered with the service and to know the mobile number or Visa card number of the person they are sending the payment to. Transactions are then initiated using a smartphone app offered by the sender’s bank.
To collect money, consumers don’t need to be signed up for the service; they only require a Visa card, internet access and to submit a few basic details.
Visa Europe senior vice president Sandra Alzetta said: “Mobile payments have the potential to fundamentally change the way that people pay and are paid. The new Multi-Currency and Immediate Payments features combine the convenience of mobile device use with the ability to send money to 460 million Visa cardholders across Europe, solving a problem that millions of consumers face every day ‘ giving money to another individual easily and securely.”