46.8 million Visa payWave cards have now been issued. While Visa Europe is targeting the availability of 90 million V PAY (the chip-only debit solution for Europe) cards by 2015

The company also predicts that a third of Europeans will be using its V.me digital wallet by 2020. Debit cards account for the largest proportion of Visa Europe's business. In 2012, consumer spending on Visa debit and V PAY cards grew further to account for 69 per cent of all of its cards and 74 per cent of PoS spending. The number of transactions climbed by 10 per cent. The Visa credit card business held firm (with PoS spending up by 4.5 per cent), whilst the commercial business grew strongly (with a 16.6 per cent increase in PoS spending).

"Once again, we saw particularly strong growth with V PAY. With 23 million cards issued, commitments for 73 million cards, and negotiations continuing on a number of additional portfolios, V PAY is now a major force in the European payments sector," says Peter Ayliffe, president and CEO, Visa Europe.

The plan is to invest €500 million to develop the infrastructure for mobile payments systems. "2012 stands out as a key year for Visa Europe and our members. The battle for the future of mobile money really took off – and, because the disputed territory lies at the meeting point of mobile phones with banking, payments, retailing, media and analytics – the stakes are high. As the most trusted brand in payments, we have been leading the way – investing in new capabilities, establishing new lines of business, and forging new partnerships. At the same time, we delivered a solid business performance: use of Visa continued to increase, rates of fraud were kept to an historic low, and our processing platforms brought yet more value to our members and partners," comments Ayliffe.

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