Estonian banks set to issue Visa cards.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Visa International said Estonia will become the second Eastern European country, besides the Czech Republic, whose banks will issue Visa cards.

Two Estonian banks, North Estonian Bank and Union Bank of Estonia, will issue Visa and Visa Electron cards during the next few months as an international payments system is established in Estonia.

"This will assist in building the financial strength of the Estonian economy, helping both domestic users and visitors to pay for goods and services," said Enn Teimann, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Estonia, in a news release.

So far 200 Estonian merchants accept Visa cards, and 50 merchants accept Visa Electron cards.

The San Francisco association says it will expand merchant acceptance and beef up its automated teller machine network in the next year. Currently, there are only four ATMs in Estonia that accept Visa products.

Okobank, a Finnish Visa member, was enlisted by the association to assist in developing a processing system.

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