Visa Easy Payment Service limit increase to 160 GEL allows consumers to simply and securely tap-to-pay for larger purchases without the need to enter a PIN. 

Tbilisi, Georgia – 13 April 2020 — Visa (NYSE: V) today announced it is supporting an increase in the Card Verification Method limit to 160 GEL in Georgia, allowing consumers to simply tap-to-pay using their card, mobile phone or contactless wearable device for larger purchases.  The increased PIN-free limit is a 60% increase from the previous amount of 100 GEL, giving Georgian consumers even more convenience for more everyday transactions.

Contactless technology provides the fastest, most convenient and highly secure way to pay for both consumers and merchants, enabling simple ‘tap’ payments.  With more than 95% of transactions in Georgia[1] already made with contactless, the increase will continue to improve consumers’ shopping experience.

“In terms of payments Georgia has been developing as a contactless country and today is globally #1 in terms of contactless penetration in domestic face-to-face transactions[2].  When consumers tap-to-pay they love the smooth, fast and secure experience, and we know that people want to use contactless to shop now more than ever,” said Cristina Doros, Visa’s country manager for the Caucasus region.  “We are committed to driving innovation and offering consumers and merchants the best way to pay, and are looking forward to supporting the further growth of highly secure contactless technology by increasing PIN – free payment limits in Georgia.”

When paying by digital  using your smartphone or smart watch, the PIN code is not required for a transaction for any amount.

In addition to convenience, contactless cards using Visa Easy Payment Service experience some of the lowest fraud rates of any type of payment, and fraud rates at point-of-sale remain at historic lows in countries where contactless payments are widely used. 

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere.  As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa, www.visasoutheasteurope.com, https://www.facebook.com/VisaGeorgiaGE

In May, the EU announced a pledge of €4.5 million for Georgia which will be used to support private sector development, boost the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and enhance productivity and financial inclusion.

This work will be carried out through the EU’s Financial Inclusion and Accountability project, which started in 2019 and will be implemented by the World Bank until 2022. The project is designed to support ambitious second-generation reforms implemented by the authorities of the country.

The project will be implemented in close cooperation with the National Bank of Georgia, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Finance, Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia, State Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision, and other private and public stakeholders.

The project is part of the World Bank Group’s support to Georgia under the Country Partnership Framework for 2019–2022 and the EU’s Single Support Framework 2017–2020 for Georgia.

On 6 June, the EU donated 540 tablets to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) to strengthen its capacities in developing intelligence-led policing and crime prevention in the country. This technical equipment will help the Georgian authorities to streamline information management relating to current crime trends and help enhance their risk analysis system.

The tablets will be used by frontline police officers who patrol the streets of towns and villages in Georgia and enable them to report crimes and incidents in real time. The technical equipment will also give police officers the opportunity to link up to various MIA databases and report without delay to the MIA’s Joint Operations Centre in Tbilisi.

This donation is part of the EU-funded project “Sustaining Border Management and Migration Governance in Georgia (SBMMG)”, implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In previous years, the EU and IOM have been supporting the MIA in developing policies in the field of intelligence-led policing, for example through the engagement of experts from Belgium and Austria, who guided their Georgian colleagues through the complexities of intelligence-led policing and shared insights on effective policing practices.

Last week, representatives of the Georgian government and Kazbegi Local Action Group (LAG) gathered in the town of Stepantsminda to discuss rural development priorities for the region and the way forward.

The main topics of the meeting referred to the state programmes and initiatives designed to promote rural development through the diversification of local economies, improvement of social and public services, increasing of employment and sustainable use of natural resources.

The event in Stepantsminda was the second in a series of public discussions in the regions. Organised by the country’s Environment Protection and Agriculture Ministry, the event was supported by the EU in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and People in Need (PiN) mission in Georgia.

Kazbegi LAG was established with the support of the EU in the framework of the rural development project implemented by PiN Georgia within the second phase of the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD). It is one of eight LAGs created with EU support in several municipalities in Georgia.

Today, within an official visit to Germany, the Minister Defence of Georgia Levan Izoria met his German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen and discussed the aspects of bilateral cooperation in the field of defence.

     After the introduction to the transformation process in the Ministry of Defence of Georgia, German minister gave a promise of support to the ongoing military reforms. In his address, Levan Izoria emphasized Georgia’s commitment to its obligations to NATO and reaffirmed the participation of Georgian peacekeeping forces in the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan.

     The meeting involved discussions on Georgia-NATO relations. Levan Izoria expressed gratitude to Germany for its contribution in the implementation of Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP) and underlined its initiatives – Defence Institutional Building School (DIB) and Joint Train and Evaluation Center (JTEC) as the examples of successful cooperation. Minister also noted the declaration of the year 2017 as Georgia-Germany Year, which involves number of important events aimed to strengthen the ties between Georgian and German people.

     Later, Levan Izoria held meeting with the Under-Secretary for Foreign and Security Policy Christoph Heusgen at German Chancellery and discussed the dynamics of Georgian-German cooperation.

     Within the visit to Germany, the members of Georgian delegation visited Magdeburg Combat Readiness Center, where they attended pre-deployment training exercise demonstration by Georgian servicemen, who are preparing for participation in the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan.