Visa Europe Promises Smoother Bill Payment

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Visa Europe has launched a service which is designed to make it easier for cards to be used for regular bill payments. The card scheme says the service addresses two issues that hinder the use of cards for regular payments: keeping merchants up to date with changes in customer card numbers, and efficiently stopping regular card-based payments.

"Regular payments account for up to 30 percent of consumer spending, and we feel this is a big area of opportunity for expanding Visa card usage," Sandra Alzetta, Visa Europe’s senior vice president, says in a statement. "However, cardholders forget to tell merchants when their card details change, and this has resulted in chargebacks for merchants and frustration for cardholders whose payments don't go through."

According to Alzetta, cardholders have also had the perception that regular payments on cards are difficult to stop.

Visa Europe says it designed its Account Updater and Stop service for insurance, telecoms and utility companies as well as for charities and local government departments which generate regular payments. The service uses a database to keep a record of Visa card numbers. It also lets merchants check customers' card details before processing payments.

The Stop feature allows merchants to see if customers have contacted their issuer to cancel regular payments, Visa says.

The service was piloted with UK telecom company BT, and is now being introduced in the UK and Ireland before being rolled out in other European countries, according to Visa.

"By automatically updating card details, customers can have peace of mind that their bill will be paid, even if there are changes to their card number," Peter Dyos, BT’s e-Payments Manager, says in a statement. "The Stop service assures customers that we know when they want to stop payments."