Turkish consumers using Visa-branded debit cards equipped with EMV chips will have the ability later this year to get cash back at the point of sale at retailers that offer the service, Visa Europe announced Feb. 23.
Visa Europe told media outlets at a press event it waited to launch the service in Turkey “due to high inflation and comparatively unstable economic indicators” the country has experienced for many years.
“Now, when I look at the Turkish economy, I see a dynamic market as well as a low inflation rate that is only one digit,” Steve Perry, Visa Europe executive vice president of sales and commercial development, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Perry did not indicate how many retailers would offer the option. Visa Europe officials did not respond to a PaymentsSource request for comment.
Visa Europe believes the cash-back service will make debit cards in Turkey more valuable because cardholders could obtain cash from retailers instead of having to find an ATM, Perry said. There are some 44 million active debit cards on issue in Turkey.
A cash limit for the service is undecided, Nur Öztin Kurak, director of Visa Turkey, told the Daily News.
Technology advancements also might have contributed to Visa Europe introducing the new service, Matt Simester, director of Auriemma Consulting Group in the UK, tells PaymentsSource. “I suspect any delay [in adding cash back] had to do with software at the point of sale rather than functionality,” he adds.
The service should benefit banks, consumers, retailers and Visa Europe, Simester says. Consumers would receive the benefit of getting cash instantly and avoiding potential ATM fees, retailers could see more foot traffic in their locations, and banks and Visa Europe could see the average ticket price increase and benefit from any associated rise in interchange revenue, he says.
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