VPay is issued by Visa Europe and is meant for countries in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). It uses the chip and PIN system, and is often co-branded with national banks in SEPA. It was established as a competitor to Mastercard’s Maestro payment option in the European market.

Because of its design, transactions mostly take place by chip and PIN, making it SEPA compliant and a very secure card for consumers. Because ATMs require the presence of the chip and don’t accept copies, the cards are very difficult to forge. 

For merchants, accepting VPay in their physical stores makes it easier for European customers to make purchases, with little hassle to the merchant. To accept VPay online, however, merchants need to implement Verified by Visa. Merchants need to contact their Payment Service Provider to begin the process of accepting VPay online.

In Europe, VPay is a cross-border bank card that’s secure and easy to use in-store at millions of merchants and ATMs across Europe, as well as some islands that are considered part of European nations.