Argentina: VISA launches own payment system following divestment at PRISMA

Following the recent sale by the country’s leading banks of 51% of their shares in the PRISMA payment processing system, the Argentine subsidiary of Visa International announced the implementation of its own payment platform, known as VisaNet, to process all domestic transactions that are made with their cards, and that “allows your more than 3.3 billion cards around the world to be used in more than 53 million stores and 2.7 million ATMs across more than 200 countries and territories … ”

The sale of PRISMA was carried out at the behest of the National Commission for the Defense of Competition, which denounced the abuse of a dominance engaged in by the firm.

Following the resolution, a “multi-jurisdiction” system has now emerged that deprives PRISMA of exclusivity over the management of the Visa payment system. Currently, PRISMA´s main rival, First Data (previously the exclusive operator in Argentina of MasterCard cards) will also be able to handle VISA transactions, while PRISMA will likewise begin operating with the rival MasterCard system.

“The evolution of Argentina towards a multi-buyer environment and the launching of local network processing through VisaNet is a milestone for Visa and the country’s electronic payment ecosystem,” said Eduardo Coello, regional president of Visa for Latin America.