Visa in Europe

Visa in Europe

Learn more about our business in Europe.
Visa in Europe

Learn more about our business in Europe.
Visa in Europe

Learn more about our business in Europe.
Visa in Europe

Learn more about our business in Europe.

Visa Europe Board

Visa retains an effective decision-making body in Europe through a revised Visa Europe Board that reflects our new structure as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Visa Inc. and as a Bank of England designated entity.

The role of the Visa Europe Board includes approving the budget for Visa in Europe, tailoring Visa Inc. strategy for the European region and deciding on matters referred to it by the Visa Europe Executive Leadership Team.

The CEO is responsible to the Board for the day-to-day management of the European Business, supported by her leadership team and a management committee.

Reporting lines with the European business balance the needs of both the regional operating model and the global regional structure, with matrix reporting lines in place for central service functions.

: Debbie joined Visa Europe Limited as an Independent Non-Executive in August 2017 and became Non-Executive Chair in July 2018. She is also currently Non-Executive Chair of Comparethemarket, White Stuff Limited and The Football Association. Debbie became the first elected female British Vice President of World Governing Football Body FIFA Council in April 2023.

Debbie’s executive career was spent at RAC plc where she was Group Managing Director and prior to that she was in retail management with Marks & Spencer. She holds an MBA (distinction) from Bath University, was awarded the MBE for services to Business and the Public Sector in 2011, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (FCIPD) and was made a Chartered Companion (Chartered CCIPD) in September 2021. In July 2022 she was awarded the Honorary Degree Doctor of Business Administration by Nottingham Trent University, in recognition of her significant contribution to Business and the Public Sector. She was the first female MD of RAC plc in its 125 year history and is the first female Chair of the Football Association in its history. In 2021, she was included in the Vogue 25 – British Vogue’s annual list of the UK’s most influential women.
: Charlotte Hogg is Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer for Visa’s European operations. Charlotte has more than 30 years of experience in financial services, bank operations and management consulting.

Prior to joining Visa, Charlotte served as Chief Operating Officer for the Bank of England, from 2013 to 2017. Other relevant experience came as she led retail distribution for Santander in the UK, worked at Experian as the managing director of UK and Irish operations, was CEO of Goldfish Bank at Discover Financial Services and earlier in her career, Charlotte was a managing director for strategy and planning at Morgan Stanley, and a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, based in the U.S.

Charlotte graduated from the University of Oxford with a B.A. in Economics and History. She is a Kennedy Memorial Trust Scholar from Harvard University, and has an honorary Doctor of Laws from Warwick University. Charlotte is on the Board of Now Teach and a Non-Executive Director for RELX plc.
: Bill Sheedy serves in a unique role as Senior Advisor to Visa’s Executive Chair and is responsible for strategic initiatives important to Visa and the payments industry, including global market expansion, social impact programs and pricing.

Prior to this appointment, Bill led global strategy, government and public policy, learning, mergers and acquisitions, and social impact. He has served at different times as Visa’s president of Europe, North America and Latin America regions and helped lead the company’s restructuring in 2007, culminating in a highly successful IPO in 2008.

Bill is a board member for Visa Europe and serves as chair of the West Virginia University Foundation Board. He holds a B.S. from West Virginia University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame
: Philippe Tromp has 40 years of experience in Capital Markets, Financial Market Infrastructure, General Insurance, and Financial Technology. He started his career in Investment Banking at PaineWebber Inc. and Bankers Trust Co. and later became Head of the international operations of Financial Security Assurance, the US financial guarantee insurance company, a position he held for 16 years.

More recently, Philippe led a start-up behind the development of a multi-dealer Request-For-Quote (RFQ) trading platform in the credit derivatives market. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Euroclear UK and International, the Central Securities Depository, where he chairs the Risk Committee and Chairman of the Board of AIG UK Limited, the UK subsidiary of US insurer AIG Inc.

Philippe holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and is a graduate of Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines with a major in Solid State Physics.
: Aki Hussain has over 20 years of professional experience in banking, insurance and accounting. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Hiscox plc previously serving as the Chief Financial Officer for 5 years. Prior to joining Hiscox, Aki was the Chief Financial Officer of Prudential plc. UK & Europe. Aki also held a number of senior roles in the financial services, telecoms and media sectors. He was Finance Director for the Consumer Bank division at Lloyds Banking Group, before which he was Finance Director for the Consumer division of NTL (now Virgin Media).

Aki is also a Chartered Accountant, having trained with KPMG. Aki has a BA degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Leeds and an ACA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a fellow of the ICAEW.
: James H Hoffmeister is Chief Financial Officer for Visa Europe Ltd. Based in London, he oversees Visa’s financial strategies, planning and reporting, operations and corporate real estate in Europe.

Prior to this role, from February 2008 to June 2022, Jim was Senior Vice President - Global Corporate Controller & Chief Accounting Officer for Visa Inc., responsible for the accuracy and integrity of Visa’s financial accounting and reporting globally, and oversight of Visa’s global financial control environment.

Prior to joining Visa Inc., Jim worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, L.L.P., from September 1994 to June 2003 and again from June 2005 to February 2008, most recently as a Director within the Capital Markets, Valuation and Accounting Advisory practice based in San Francisco. From June 2003 to June 2005, Jim was a Professional Accounting Fellow with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington D.C.

Jim received a B.S. in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University and is a Certified Public Accountant (Inactive) in the states of California and Maryland.
: Peter Plumb is currently Chairman of Blue Light Card and Albelli Photobox Group. Peter was also Non-Executive Director of Cooperative Group. His Executive career included Chief Executive Officer of Just Eat Plc and MoneySuperMarket Group Plc. Prior to his CEO roles, his career included being UK Managing Director of dunnhumby and senior leadership roles in consumer businesses including Disney, Dyson and PepsiCo.

Peter has a BSc in Civil Engineering from University of Birmingham and an MBA from IMD Lausanne.
: Chris Clark is Chairman, Asia Pacific. In this role, he drives Visa’s market expansion strategy in the region, supports both regional and global initiatives including strategic engagement with government and industry stakeholders, and is a non-executive director of the Visa Europe Board.

Previously, Chris was President, Visa Asia Pacific. In his ten years in the role he more than doubled the size of Visa’s business in the region and established a sales-focused, digital-first culture. While leading Asia Pacific, Chris focused on expanding the reach of electronic payments and forging strong client and partner relationships, driving innovation in the regional payments ecosystem and building new partnerships with established and start-up fintechs. Chris has previously held a number of leadership roles in markets around the region. He led North Asia and Australasia, where he successfully drove growth and managed challenges in Visa’s most developed markets. He was also General Manager for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific as well as General Manager for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau and the Philippines. He joined Visa in 2002 as General Manager Taiwan.

Before joining Visa, Chris served 14 years in a variety of senior management positions at National Australia Bank, including market management roles in Taiwan and Thailand. He also worked in consumer and commercial banking, including assignments in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Chris is a fluent Mandarin speaker, has a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Melbourne (Australia) and completed executive programs at both INSEAD (France) and Stanford University (USA).
: Kelly Mahon Tullier is vice chair, chief people and corporate affairs officer of Visa. Kelly serves as corporate secretary, and leads Visa’s people, communications, government engagement, inclusive impact & sustainability, transformation and corporate services functions, including real estate, aviation, security and global events.

Previously in her tenure at Visa, Kelly served as general counsel, leading the legal and compliance function for the Company. In that role, she was a key negotiator of Visa’s $23 billion acquisition of Visa Europe and has led the Company through a variety of complex legal, regulatory and compliance matters globally. Beginning in 2021, Kelly expanded her role to take on the additional responsibilities of stewarding the communications, corporate services and people organizations, and more recently, government engagement, inclusive impact & sustainability and transformation. In her current role, Kelly is responsible for driving an exemplary 360-degree experience to attract and retain top talent, while creating a safe and engaging physical environment that enables all Visa employees to thrive and grow, and enhancing Visa’s advocacy and external reputational initiatives.

Prior to joining Visa, Kelly worked at PepsiCo, Inc. as senior vice president and deputy general counsel. She also served as senior vice president and general counsel for PepsiCo's Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa division, based in Dubai. Previously, Kelly was vice president and general counsel for Frito-Lay, Inc. Earlier in her career, she was an associate at BakerBotts LLP and also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Sidney A. Fitzwater, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas.

Kelly serves on the Cornell Law School Advisory Council, the Corporate Advisory Committee of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, and on the board of directors of the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC). She has also previously served as a director on the boards of the Tahirih Justice Center and International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR). Kelly received her bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and her juris doctorate, magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School.

Policy & Regulation

The European Commission announced new regulations designed to safeguard consumer financial data. New regulations require an additional security step for some online purchases. More purchases will require the added layer of security known as two-factor authentication for consumers to confirm their identity.

Self-assessment

In February 2023, Visa Europe published its updated self-assessment against the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI). The point of the assessment is 30 September 2022.

The PFMIs are internationally agreed standards published by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) in April 2012. They are a part of a set of standards that the international community considers essential to strengthening and preserving financial stability.

Visa Europe as a Recognised Payment System has undertaken the self-assessment against the principles that apply to payment systems.

You can download a PDF version of the document here.

Visa Rules

Visa Europe Operating Regulations

The previously published broad Visa Europe Operating Regulations have been retired. The new public version of the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (which relate to Scheme) can be downloaded here.

To request a copy of the rules relating to Processing, please email [email protected].

Corporate Responsibility

Helping people and businesses in our markets to prosper in a global economy.

As a trusted brand in payments, Visa has a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to use our business to connect the world— enabling economic growth and strengthening economies while also helping improve lives and create a better world.

Corporate Governance Report

For periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019, all large companies (including subsidiaries) have to publish a statement explaining how its directors have had regard to wider stakeholders when performing their duty under s172 of the Companies Act 2006. Visa applies high standards and best practice to corporate governance arrangements, complying with the regulatory governance requirements of our regulators.

Read Visa's Corporate Governance Report

UK Modern Slavery Act Statement

Visa is committed to operating responsibly and establishing high ethical standards across our company. The U.K. Modern Slavery Act of 2015 requires companies carrying on business in the U.K. to publish a statement describing steps taken to ensure modern forms of slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in the company’s business operations and supply chains.

Read Visa’s Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement

UK Tax Strategy

Visa is a global payments technology company that enables fast, secure and reliable electronic payments across more than 200 countries and territories. We facilitate global commerce through the transfer of value and information among a global network of consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities.

Schedule 19, Finance Act 2016 requires Visa to set out the tax strategy of its UK companies and this is detailed below. This strategy covers all taxes and applies from the date of publication until it is superseded.

Read Visa’s UK Tax Strategy

UK Pension Schemes

The chair of the Trustee Directors of Visa Europe Pension Trustee Limited, Peter Gibbs, has provided two statements for the period ending 30 September 2022.

Read Visa Europe Pension Plan Chairman’s Statement

Read Visa Europe Pension Plan’s Implementation Statement

In addition, there is also a requirement to issue a Statement of Investment Principles for both of Visa’s pension schemes in the UK, which sets out the trustees’ investment strategy and their policy on environmental, social and corporate governance factors. Also, for the Visa UK Pension Plan, the trustees have produced a statement that sets out the actions they have undertaken to implement the stewardship policy in accordance with their SIP.

Read Visa Europe Pension Plan’s Statement of Investment Principles dated September 2023

Read Visa UK Pension Plan’s Statement of Investment Principles dated 20 July 2022

Read Visa UK Pension Plan’s current Engagement Policy Implementation Statement

FSB Continuity of Access Questionnaire

The Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international organization that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system, published its Guidance on Continuity of Access to Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs) for a Firm in Resolution on 6 July 2017.

This document provides guidance for FMIs, such as Visa, for maintaining critical function continuity in times of a serious incident.

In addition, the FSB also developed a questionnaire for FMIs to complete that provides information relevant to continuity of access support when clients require resolution.

Read Visa Europe Limited’s summary response to the FSB Continuity of Access Questionnaire here.

Diversity & Inclusion

Visa believes that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect in the workplace irrespective of race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, belief, sex, sexual orientation, sexual identity including gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, age, disability, marriage and civil partnership, and/or any characteristics protected in any of our markets.

Gender Pay Reporting

In accordance with its legal obligations, since 2019, the branch of VISA Europe Ltd. in France has calculated and communicated its Gender Pay Gap index prior to March 1 of each year.

The Gender Pay Gap index corresponds to a government measure that came into force in 2019. This index, whose overall score can reach 100 points, aims to compare the situation of women to that of men in the company according to 4 or 5 indicators, depending on the company's headcount. Given our headcount, our assessment covers only 4 indicators.

Our score, obtained according to these 4 indicators, is detailed below:

The pay gap: 39/40 points;
The difference in the rate of individual increases: 35/35 points;
Increase after return from maternity leave: 15/15 points;
Parity between women and men among the 10 highest salaries: 5/10 points.

For the reference period from 1st January to 31st December 2022, we obtained an overall score of 94/100.

As a company we continue to strive to evolve and improve our policies which over time will drive continued improvement in our score and help us meet our client’s needs.

Please find below a link to our UK gender pay report

Women in Finance Charter

In our mission to be an inclusive and balanced organisation, Visa in Europe signed the Women in Finance Charter in 2018. The Charter reflects the UK government’s aspiration to see gender balance at all levels across financial services firms.

By signing the Charter Visa in Europe pledges to promote gender diversity by:

having one member of our senior executive team who is responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion;
setting internal targets for gender diversity in our senior management;
publishing progress annually against these targets in reports on our website;
having an intention to ensure the pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity.

As part of the Charter, Visa committed to the following internal targets in September 2020.

A target of 35% of women in senior management by 2023.
- A target of 41% of women across Europe by 2023.

Given that we have exceeded both the targets set in September 2020 early, we are setting a new three year target. At the end of October 2022, the percentage of women senior managers was 35.2%. We are committing to the following internal gender diversity targets:

A target of 36.5% of women in senior management by 2025.
- A target of 42.5% of women across Europe by 2025.

Visa believes in empowering and advancing the careers of all women leaders. Going forward, we have developed programmes to help us achieve gender balance across all levels of the organisation.

Read our Women in Finance Charter Report

Business Code of Conduct

Learn about our Visa business in Europe, including the corporate structure, key policy and regulation provisions, and corporate responsibility measures.

Under this arrangement, we will separately compete for scheme and processing business, while continuing to meet the changing demands of a global marketplace.

Our Code of Conduct helps us understand our roles and responsibilities in the context of this structure, no matter which area of Visa we are part of. It helps ensure individual and organisational compliance as we continue to deliver new and exciting products and services quickly and at scale.

Visa partners with its customers in Europe – banks and payment providers – to enable payments and associated services. Our focus is on providing global, competitive and innovative solutions that meet the needs of our customers. This in turn brings tangible benefits to their customers - enabling merchants to grow their businesses and enabling consumers to pay where and when they choose, and on any device.

Visa Europe Limited (Visa) operates separate management bodies for the management of Scheme and Processing.

In line with its obligations under Article 16(1) of the Regulatory Technical Standard (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/72) of 4 October 2017) (‘RTS’)¹ and without prejudice to the exemption of shared services referred to in Article 12 of the RTS, Visa has set out the following clear and objective criteria to ensure that the composition of its management bodies mitigates any conflicts of interest for the decision making process between Scheme and Processing:

Any Scheme and Processing management body is constituted with a defined mandate that ensures compliance with Visa’s Separation of Scheme and Processing Code of Conduct (including the protection of sensitive information and other conduct obligations to mitigate any conflicts of interest).
Members of the relevant management bodies of each of Scheme and Processing will at all times be subject to conflicts of interest policies

Any circumstances where directorships may be held by the same person at the same time in the management body of Scheme and Processing will be objectively justified and restricted to the minimum necessary to address a specific need or purpose. An example of circumstances where it may be necessary would be for regulatory, prudential or other risk based oversight.

1 onshored in the UK by the Technical Standards (Interchange Fee Regulation) (EU Exit) Instrument 2019