Visa has announced it intends to invest half a billion euros in EU projects over the next decade as the payments company looks to strengthen its ties to the bloc.

The core of its investment is a new data centre, which will be located in an as-yet undisclosed in the Eurozone and power Visa transactions across the continent. This will be the company’s fifth such facility globally, joining those in Virgina, Colorado, London and Singapore.

Visa is also set to build a new Eurozone headquarters in Frankfurt, which the company said will be home to a European Innovation Centre that aims to develop payments through digital, AI-enabled and data-driven innovation.

The company also reiterated its commitment to opening a technology and solutions centre in Poland in 2027, and building a European “Cyber Fusion Centre”, responding to evolving cyber threats in the payments ecosystem.

The news comes as the bloc prepares to unveil its sovereign technology strategy on 3 June, which will prioritise EU-developed cloud and AI technologies as well as incentivising data centre construction on the continent.

In a blog released the same day as the announcement, the company’s European chief executive stressed the company’s longstanding investment on the continent. In particular, Antony Cahill noted that the Visa Europe is built and governed in Europe.

Its governance structure, operating under the supervision of the Bank of England with oversight from the European Central Bank, “ensures accountability and alignment with European regulatory and operational expectations,” he said.

Visa also expects to be designated as a Systemically Important Payment System for the Eurozone area under European Central Bank oversight, and intends to enable Euro settlement via T2, which the company said will anchor its payment flows within the Eurosystem.

---