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Visa Inc. today launched a new operating system designed to enhance the capabilities of VisaNet, the brand's global transaction-processing switch. Visa worked with IBM Corp. to add the operating system, known as z Transaction Processing Facility, or z/TPF. The operating system should allow Visa to manipulate more information at once and to perform more-complex processing functions faster, according to Visa. The z/TPF system will reduce the average transaction time to less than one second from slightly more than one second, according to a Visa spokesperson. The system also will enable Visa to capture greater amounts of payment data and develop information-intensive applications, such as advanced fraud analysis, says the spokesperson. "Few people recognize the critical role VisaNet plays in supporting" brand acceptance, Mike Dreyer, Visa chief information officer, said in a press release. Visa additionally opened a data-processing center in the Eastern United States, though the company would not disclose the exact location of the 370,000-square-foot facility because of security concerns.
