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Visa Europe took in 672.6 million euros (US$869 million) in revenue from continuing operations in 2008, up 15.3% from 583.3 million euros the previous year, the card group says. Consumers with cards issued by Visa Europe member banks spent 883 billion euros on purchases last year, up 10.4% from 800 billion euros the previous year. Debit card spending accounts for 70% of Visa Europe's business, the card group said. Debit card spending increased 10.9%, while credit card spending increased only 7.1%. Visa Europe's member banks have issued about 227 million debit cards, up 7% from last year, and about 121 million credit cards, up 1.5%. Visa Europe says banks committed to issuing 41 million V Pay cards, up 115.8% from 19.4 million in 2007. V Pay is the card brand's debit scheme that complies with Single Euro Payments Area mandates. About 1 million V Pay cards are in circulation.
