The new Visa digital wallet service, V.me, is due to be rolled out in the UK, Spain and France this autumn (view press release). The service will be available through Visa’s partner banks and will be accessible via the internet on a PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Multiple cards will be able to be stored in the wallet. Payment processor, WorldPay, has been selected as the principal development partner in the UK and will be responsible for providing the commercial and propositional insights to ensure that V.me focuses on meeting retailer needs and expectations. Other partners for each market, such as banks and retailers, are due to be announced soon. The service is designed to enable retailers to make their checkout process more efficient, reducing queue time and increasing turnover.

Visa Europe says its e-commerce department grew by 44% between 2009 and 2011 and currently accounts for 22% of all transactions. The company explains that the V.me digital wallet service is therefore the “natural next step” in its e-commerce strategy. “V.me sits at the heart of Visa’s future of payments,” said executive vice president of product and marketing solutions at Visa Europe, Mariano Dima. “For the first time, consumers and retailers will have a streamlined online checkout experience through an acceptance mark that offers industry-leading security and, when a Visa card is used in a V.me wallet, the same protection and rights that come with any Visa card transaction.”