Visa has announced the European launch of Visa Direct, its real-time payments platform that enables companies to leverage Visa's global reach and scale to transform domestic and cross-border payments for businesses and consumers.

Visa is working with payment service providers, financial institution clients and strategic partners to roll out services using Visa Direct, according to a press release.

Visa has partnered with Worldpay, a global leader in payments processing technology and products for merchants, to accelerate the availability of Visa Direct to merchants in Europe and subsequently across all of its markets globally. Once recipient banks make required changes to their systems, Visa Direct will enable Worldpay's merchants to send real-time payments to consumers.

"For decades, Visa has led the way in transforming the way we pay in stores and online. Now, we have an opportunity to transform how consumers and business pay each other in a fast, convenient and secure way," Mike Lemberger, senior vice president of product solutions for Visa in Europe, said in the release. "Visa Direct is a proven platform that enables technology companies, businesses and financial institutions to meet the demand for real-time payments, backed by the ubiquity, cost-efficiency and speed of Visa's global network."