Availability to millions of consumers in Greater China and United
Arab Emirates; Launch of managed service to speed global adoption of
Visa Money Transfer
SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2009--
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), the world’s largest retail electronic payments
network, today extended the global reach of its Visa Money Transfer
Service to greater China and the United Arab Emirates, two of the
world’s most active territories for international remittance.
In addition, Visa announced the launch of a new managed service that
reduces the time and development investment required for a financial
institution to offer Visa Money Transfer to its customers. Initially
available in Canada and the United States, and later on a global basis,
the service is intended to foster more rapid adoption of the service in
marketplaces around the world.
Visa Money Transfer gives consumers a convenient, cost-effective and
secure way to send funds directly to recipients’ Visa cards domestically
and internationally. Senders can initiate a Visa Money Transfer to make
person-to-person payments, send funds to friends or family members, or
make account transfers. Sender channels through which a Visa Money
Transfer can be initiated include internet banking, Automatic Teller
Machines (ATM), self-service kiosks, in person at a bank branch, or via
the telephone.
Following these launches, Visa Money Transfer programs are offered to
consumers in greater China, including Hong Kong; Georgia; India;
Indonesia; Kazakhstan; Malaysia; Russia; Singapore; Sweden; Ukraine; and
the United Arab Emirates. Visa Money Transfer is available via 50
sending institutions in 14 countries and territories around the world.
“Visa is well positioned to facilitate secure and cost-effective money
transfer services by extending the capabilities of our global network
that connects 1.7 billion accounts,” said
Elizabeth Buse
, global head of
product, Visa Inc. “This enables our clients to diversify into new
fee-based services, while meeting their customers’ need for a
convenient, secure and affordable way to send money domestically and
across borders.”
Working with Leading Institutions
ICBC – The ICBC Visa Money Transfer program, launched in China
today will be available initially in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen and
will provide the bank’s 70.8 million internet banking customers1
a safe and convenient option to transfer funds to Visa cards globally.
The World Bank estimates that more than US$5.7 billion was sent in
cross-border remittances from China in 2008. The new Visa Money Transfer
service will be targeted at those with family members working or
studying abroad, primarily in Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore,
Hong Kong, France and Germany and will make it easier for them to send
funds.
EPS – For consumers in Hong Kong, EPS Hong Kong Limited (EPS), an
online bill payment platform provider owned by 21 leading financial
institutions, has also launched a Visa Money Transfer service. The
service will be immediately available to customers of Standard Chartered
Bank and Wing Hang. It gives customers of these banks in Hong Kong the
ability to transfer funds to 14 countries in nine currencies either by
phone or via its PPS online portal. Visa Money Transfer has broadened
the PPS platform from a domestic bill payment service to now include
international fund transfers. The PPS Visa Money Transfer platform
allows the service to be extended easily to additional member banks of
EPS based on bank and consumer demand.
Combined, the ICBC and EPS programs will help to deliver Visa Money
Transfer to more than 72 million new consumers in Greater China.
UAE Exchange – Visa and UAE Exchange, the leading global
remittance and exchange house in the United Arab Emirates, have come
together to offer a cross-border Visa Money Transfer program. The
service will be offered through UAE Exchange’s network of 79 branches
across the country. Visa Money Transfer will represent a new, more
convenient funds delivery method to UAE Exchange customers. The service
is scheduled to launch later in November, using Visa Processing Services
for transaction processing.
Worldwide – The Visa Money Transfer managed service launched
today provides Visa clients with an end-to-end packaged solution that
gives them the ability to customize several elements of the service
including consumer fees, branding, foreign exchange rates, transaction
limits and language preferences, in addition to core transaction
processing.
Continued Global Expansion
While the Asia Pacific region is leading the deployment of new Visa
Money Transfer programs, significant momentum has been gained around the
world. Recent momentum includes:
Singapore – Singapore Post Limited (SingPost), which last year
became the first post office in the world to offer a Visa Money Transfer
service, has expanded its international remittance service to four
additional recipient countries and territories. Consumers can now send
money to Visa cardholders in Bangladesh, Hong Kong, New Zealand and
Taiwan, in addition to Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Standard
Chartered Bank has also teamed up with SingPost to offer a domestic Visa
credit card repayment service through SingPost’s self-service automated
machines.
Russia – Nineteen banks in Russia already offer Visa Money
Transfer through over 15,000 ATMs and kiosks in the country. In
partnership with Alfa Bank, Visa introduced the first implementation of
its enhanced Visa Money Transfer service for express funds transfer, now
available to Alfa Bank and Severnaya Kazna customers.
Ukraine – In partnership with JCSB “Ukrsotsbank”, Visa launched a
money transfer service which, from May 2009, allows any Visa cardholder
in Ukraine to use the service via one of the bank’s ATMs for domestic
transfers to other Visa cardholders in Ukraine.
About Visa Money Transfer
Visa’s goal is to use its global processing platform and card base to
make money transfer among the 1.7 billion Visa accounts around the world
safe, convenient and reliable. To this end, Visa is continually
enhancing existing programs and developing new services. Work underway
includes technology infrastructure improvements to support global
processing of Visa money transfers, and to open new channels through
which remittances can be sent and received, including through financial
institution branches, the internet, mobile devices and Visa’s global ATM
network.
As a global company, operating the world’s largest electronic payments
network, Visa Inc. is well positioned to deliver flexible services that
meet the demand for money transfer services and to support the
introduction of Visa Money Transfer service to new geographies in key
domestic and cross-border money transfer corridors.
About Visa Inc.: Visa Inc. operates the world’s largest retail
electronic payments network providing processing services and payment
product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and
commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron,
Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the
world, and Visa/PLUS is one of the world’s largest global ATM networks,
offering cash access in local currency in more than 200 countries. For
more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
1 ICBC Interim Annual Report 2009 (by end of September)
Source: Visa Inc.
Visa Inc.
Elvira Swanson, 415-932-2564
globalmedia@visa.com
or
Visa
Worldwide
Susan Williams, +65 6437 5659
swilliam@visa.com
or
Visa
CEMEA
Jonathan Miller, +44 (0)207 225 8034
millerj@visa.com