Visa EU launches new low cost, cross-border money transfer service - Visa Direct

14 November 2002, Budapest - Visa EU today unveiled details of its new cross-border money transfer service, to be known as Visa Direct. The new service is set to revolutionise cross-border payments, enabling Visa's member banks to offer a convenient, end-to-end money transfer service to their customers. As it operates across the existing Visa infrastructure it is straightforward and cost-effective for banks to implement.

The service precedes the introduction of tighter EU regulation on cross-border transfers. From July 2003 banks within the Eurozone will no longer be able to charge more for low value (below €12,500) EU cross-border transfers than they do for domestic transfers. Visa Direct provides member banks with a ready-made, low-cost means of complying with the new regulations. It also gives them an opportunity to play a part in a European money transfer market worth an estimated €25 billion a year.

By using existing Visa connections, systems and account numbers, Member banks can offer their customers a new secure money transfer system. There is no need for them to develop additional software, Visa Direct simply plugs into existing systems and uses the globally recognised Visa account numbers to provide a complete end-to-end package. Visa EU is working with Clear2Pay, the Brussels based financial services software vendor, to develop the service.

Swedish bank ForeningsSparbanken and Spanish banks BBVA and La Caixa have already committed to the service and are expected to be live with Visa Direct early in 2003. Further issuing banks are expected to sign up later this year.

Customer demand for the service will vary from transferring money for family support, to last minute emergencies or spontaneous gifts. Users will be able to access the service at any time via phone, Internet or branch banking and can transfer money in all major currencies to friends, family or clients straight away. The Visa Direct Service is initially open to any Visa EU cardholder but this will be widened to other Visa regions and payment schemes in the future.

Jon Prideaux, Visa EU commented, "Using Visa Direct couldn't be simpler, for the bank or the customer. It provides a convenient and good value alternative to traditional money transfer services, which are often cumbersome and complicated to use. It also offers our members a low-cost solution to processing payments within an evolving regulatory environment. Most importantly, Visa Direct ensures a transfer gets to the right beneficiary, in the right time."

Unlike traditional bank transfers there are no manual forms to fill in and users can initiate a transaction at any time. To transfer money, all the sender needs to know is the email address or account number of the recipient and Visa Direct will do the rest. There is no holding account; instead payments are 'passed through', straight to the beneficiary's account in each of the three different sending options available. Visa Direct has an extensive fraud and anti-money laundering capability built in to the system to comply with EU and domestic money laundering regulations.

Michael Harding, Managing Director at Oliver Wyman & Company -the financial services strategy consulting firm, said "Visa Direct offers banks savings of 70 percent per transaction by taking advantage of the enhanced opportunities to migrate customers to Internet channels."

Jon Prideaux continued, "The current money transfer market is beset with complex transaction processes and consumer misconception, but cross border payments needn't be complicated or time-consuming. By using Visa's tried and tested infrastructure and systems, Visa Direct is a common sense solution for cross border money transfers. We believe it will help expand the market potential by significantly lowering the costs and inconvenience of transfers for both banks and their customers."


About Visa

Visa is one of the world's leading payment brands. Visa-branded cards generate more than US$2.3 trillion in annual volume and are accepted at more than 29 million physical locations around the world, including more than 800,000 ATMs. The Visa organization plays a pivotal role in developing innovative payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce - the ability to conduct commerce anywhere, anytime, and any way. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.


For more information please contact

Angela Sherratt/Coelina Carter
Visa EU
+44 20 7795 5103/5331
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