Paysera Becomes a Direct Visa Member, Strengthening Its Card Issuing Capabilities

Until now, Paysera cards for private and business customers were issued through a partner. Having obtained Visa Issuing Principal Membership status, the company will be able to independently manage a portfolio of more than 150,000 active cards and pave the way for expanding card services to more than 1.5 million active Paysera customers.

Direct card issuance means greater flexibility: faster deployment of new features, a better user experience, and stronger control over the everyday financial services the company offers through its super app.

"Direct Visa membership is a strategic step that strengthens Paysera's independence and allows us to shape the future of our own card programmes. It reinforces our position as a full-service financial services provider in Lithuania and internationally, and builds a solid foundation for further growth," says Justina Šidlauskienė, CEO of Paysera LT, UAB.

At the same time, Paysera LT, UAB signed another agreement with Visa on the Visa Direct to Account solution, which will make it possible to send money directly to the recipient's account in more than 15 currencies — USD, CAD, HKD, JPY, AED, etc. For customers, this means faster and cheaper international money transfers.

Direct Visa card membership is among the most advanced levels a payment market participant can reach. Paysera joins a limited number of Lithuanian financial institutions that have reached this level – confirming both the company's technological maturity and its adherence to Visa's strict requirements for compliance, security, and operations.

The direct membership of Paysera LT, UAB is part of a broader move to consolidate card operations under Paysera's own Visa membership and the card issuing programme it manages. Until now, part of the group's card services has been provided by the Financial Services Contis, a company acquired by the Paysera Group last year, which holds a separate VISA membership.

"The process was carried out in several stages – from compliance assessments to technical integrations. Intensive, active work began in September 2025, and from then on we moved steadily towards this outcome. This was not just a technical project – it is a fundamental step in the evolution of our infrastructure," says Žydrūnė Putelytė, Deputy CEO of Paysera LT, UAB.

In the future, this status could pave the way for Paysera to provide network access (BIN sponsorship) services to other financial institutions seeking to connect to the Visa network – such possibilities would depend on Visa's decisions and conditions.

Growth and innovation

Paysera cards are currently active in nine European markets, and direct Visa membership creates the conditions for faster expansion of card services. The focus on proprietary infrastructure is also evident in the area of payment acceptance: Paysera has implemented its own card payment solution with enhanced customer identity verification, so the company manages an increasing share of the card value chain – from issuance to acceptance – on its own infrastructure. The company increasingly bases the development of new services on artificial intelligence–driven engineering, which has recently accelerated the rollout of new products.