Clarks has over 500 stores throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland, and sells more than 50 million pairs of shoes worldwide every year through a multi-channel experience. Offering consumers secure and convenient ways to pay is a key part of Clarks' plan to build its online sales. V.me by Visa helps support this goal by removing the need to enter card details, making it faster, easier and more secure for customers to make a payment.

V.me by Visa, the innovative new digital wallet service developed by Visa Europe, will be offered to consumers by leading banks. The service will be available across Europe with rollout due in the UK and Spain from the end of 2013*, with other markets to follow.

Duncan Olby, Senior Vice President, Visa Europe said: "The retail community is incredibly important to us and we've designed V.me by Visa to improve sales for retailers and improve the customer experience. V.me by Visa is fully optimised for mobile e-commerce, is easy to use and gives shoppers confidence and peace of mind when they pay online because we shield their card details. We're delighted to have Clarks on board to help us improve the shopping experience for customers in the UK."

Kelly Smirk, Head of MCR UK Operations, Clarks commented: "At Clarks we are all about giving the customer choice which is why we are excited to be able to start offering them V.me by Visa, a new payment method supported by a well-known and trusted brand - Visa. This new payment method will give our customers more choice about how they want to pay online, making it more convenient, simple and safe."

Ron Kalifa, Deputy Chairman, WorldPay comments "We're delighted to be supporting Clarks in introducing new payment methods, like V.me by Visa to their consumers - and we've been working closely with Visa to develop this new payment service for our customers. The addition of V.me by Visa to Clarks' payment portfolio is indicative of increasing familiarity with digital wallets to pay for goods and services online and we're seeing growing consumer confidence that online payments can be made easily and securely."

The fast and simple V.me by Visa payment experience allows consumers to complete online transactions through the internet browser on a PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone in a simple and easy manner. Full customer card details are not passed on to the retailer, helping encourage consumers to feel safe when shopping online. In addition the improved customer journey streamlines the online checkout experience in order to reduce basket abandonment and, in turn, increase sales conversions for merchants.