Visa sees a high potential on the domestic card market, in the wake of EU integration, both in terms of card numbers and use and plans the development of new products and programmes for credit cards.
After EU integration, Visa's domestic operations were transferred under the coordination of Visa Europe, after initially being developed under Visa CEMEA.
Mark Antipof, general manager with Visa Europe for developed and emerging markets, says that in terms of credit card infrastructure, the move to Visa Europe will not pose significant challenges. In fact, the infrastructure used globally is compatible.
According to Antipof the switch to Visa Europe will bring: "Access to new products and services developed by Visa Europe", with Romania being taken into consideration for the introduction of new products, especially given the impressive growth it posted in recent years.
In addition, Visa Europe is compatible with the SEPA (Sepa European Payments Area) system as of this year, promoted by EU authorities and a system that must become completely operational by 2010. By 2008, the unification of payment instruments must be achieved.
A survey commissioned by Visa shows that "for a major retail bank, costs related to cash operations can account for as much as 15% of the operational costs, cash being therefore the most important cost element in payment operations".
Mark Antipof adds that from this point of view, card use can prove more cost efficient. "Our ultimate purpose is to replace cash by cards". For the time being, just 1 euro out of 9 euros is spent in Europe using a Visa card.
Another Visa survey recently released shows around a quarter of European firms plan to expand the use of cards and limit the use of bank cheques. The purpose is the same: cost efficiency and improved management of financial resources. As regards the domestic market, there is still a great deal to be done.
According to NBR data, there were more than 9 million cards in circulation on the domestic market at the end of last year. Of these, 4.72 million were issued under the Visa logo, up 31% against December 2005.
However, users' penchant for cash is obvious: 84% of transactions are done at ATMs, while only 14% account for payments using cards at retail outlets. Nevertheless, the number and value of transactions at POS-es have doubled in recent years, starting from a low level.
Besides improved card acceptance, Catalin Cretu, Visa vice-president for Romania and Bulgaria, says another target is the diversification of products offered in collaboration with partner banks. With this in mind, he explains the switch to Visa Europe will allow for know-how transfers.
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