V PAY

V PAY is Visa's European debit card brand, and V PAY allows you to pay and withdraw money in shops across Europe. V PAY thus contributes to the creation of the Single European Payments Area (SEPA). As the first SEPA-compatible product, the V PAY card uses the highly secure EMV chip. With V PAY, transactions are made only with a chip and PIN - the account data required for payment and contained on the magnetic stripe can no longer be misused (skimming). Only additional services such as printing account statements or opening doors are performed via the magnetic stripe. As a chip-based payment process, V PAY prevents fraudulent use of counterfeit cards. V Pay cards were first accepted by merchants in France and Greece in 2005 and have since been extended to several European countries. However, from 2019, V Pay will be phased out in favour of Visa Debit.

In Hungary, banks do not issue VPAY cards, but Visa acceptance points can use the card.

V Pay is specifically designed as a European product and is not issued or accepted outside European countries, except in some overseas territories. However, some cards are bundled with Visa Electron, which allows use outside Europe.