Visa Europe, the scheme provider behind O2 Wallet, has announced that it will launch its own digital wallet service, V.me by Visa, to an initial group of consumers in the UK, Spain and France in autumn 2012.
The service will be made available through Visa’s member banks and will initially be accessed through the internet browser on a PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Consumers will be able to put multiple cards into the wallet.
Visa announced that payments processor WorldPay would act as a key development partner with other development and launch partners in each market, including banks and retailers, due to be be announced soon. WorldPay is providing commercial and propositional insights to "ensure that V.me is designed with a focus on meeting retailer needs and expectations", a Visa statement said.
Mariano Dima, Executive Vice President of Product and Marketing Solutions at Visa Europe, said: “V.me sits at the heart of Visa’s future of payments. For the first time, consumers and retailers will have a streamlined online checkout experience through an acceptance mark that offers industry-leading security and, when a Visa card is used in a V.me wallet, the same protection and rights that come with any Visa card transaction.
“Our intention is that V.me will ultimately be able to incorporate any or all of our new payment technologies, allowing our members to deliver the best possible payments experience whether face-to-face, online or in a mobile environment. This comprehensive service suite, delivered under the V.me umbrella, will offer an easy way to benefit from the scale, security and reliability of Visa.”
Phillip McGriskin, Chief Product Officer at WorldPay, adds: “Shoppers are driving the demand for more convenient, secure and safe ways to pay online. V.me is being developed specifically to address those needs. WorldPay has partnered with Visa Europe to ensure the proposition matches merchant requirements and is an attractive and practical digital wallet solution in what is fast becoming a crowded marketplace.”
E-commerce currently represents 22% of Visa Europe’s transactions and grew 44% between 2009 and 2011. The V.me digital wallet service is the natural next step in the development of Visa’s e-commerce strategy.