For this first in history annual spend on Visa debit cards across Europe has exceeded one trillion euro, which represents an 8.8% increase from last year.
Despite the challenging economic climate, total spend by Visa cardholders grew by 8.0% to €1.3 trillion. This was underpinned by a 16% growth in e-commerce, the fastest growing part of the Visa Europe business. Online spending on Visa cards in Europe topped €200 billion (€202bn) for the first time and accounts for more than 20% of Visa Europe’s processed business. €1 in every €6.75 spent in Europe is on a Visa card.
Growth was also strong in other core areas of the Visa Europe business, with spending on commercial cards increasing by 17.6% and on prepaid cards by 18.3%.
2013 will see the rollout of V.me by Visa, Visa’s first integrated digital wallet, in the UK, France and Spain. By 2020, Visa Europe believes that one-third of all European consumers will be using the V.me wallet. The V.me service will continue to evolve to incorporate other Visa payment technologies, including contactless transactions at the point of sale and person-to-person payments.
2013 will also see the continued rollout of contactless payments for card and mobile devices. Contactless transactions in Europe quadrupled in 2012 and Visa Europe expects to repeat this growth in 2013. Across Europe, in 2013, there will be 40 issuers offering mobile contactless payment services to consumers and by the end of 2013 around 80 types of smartphone will be certified by Visa to carry out contactless payments. “As we continue to see the explosive adoption of mobile devices, our priority in 2013 is to give consumers faster, safer mobile ways to pay,” said Peter Ayliffe, Chief Executive, Visa Europe.
