Near-instant transactions to anywhere in the world in just a few clicks can soon be the norm, with Visa announcing it will update existing standards to improve the payment experience within the global ecosystem, driving greater access to real-time payments and modernising global money movement.
The update, spearheaded by Visa’s money movement platform, Visa Direct, will usher in a new wave of money transfers, creating a more consistent experience for end-users built on greater transparency and security, as well as driving financial inclusion through simpler payment methods and more choice.
The process will involve Visa working with banks to enable debit consumer card issuers in selected European countries to implement Visa Direct origination capabilities to support cross-border money transfers. This means that, from November 2026, customers will have the ability to send money using card credentials or Visa+.
Visa+ is a service that helps simplify money movement, enabling customers to connect with familiar digital identifiers like phone numbers or email addresses, with their bank account or card number. The solution can help banks and money movement providers enhance their P2P services and make them easier and more intuitive for customers to use.
The new service will empower the sending side functionalities for banks to deliver near real-time payments, with Visa+ creating tokenised transactions that’ll ensure greater speed and security – in fact the implementation of tokenised credentials can help reduce fraud by up to 30%¹. Visa Direct origination transactions are almost instant and provide similar user experiences as domestic digital wallets but scaling them for global usage.
Anastasia Serikova, Head of Visa Direct, Europe, said: “This is an important step in ensuring banks and financial institutions are keeping up with the pace of consumer expectations and user experience. Visa Direct is about driving financial inclusion, allowing anyone to send and receive payments securely, with speed and peace of mind. This rollout will provide simplicity, choice and trust in the ecosystem, while preventing vulnerable customers from using alternative payments methods that charge high fees, including FX spread, and have uncertain outcomes.”
The new capabilities will be implemented across Europe in waves, as Visa Direct continues its mission to simplify the complexity associated with remittances, reducing time, security concerns and costs and providing a single point of access to reach over 11 billion endpoints, including 3+ billion cards.