It was offered by issuing banks in every country with the exception of Canada, Australia, Argentina, Ireland and the United States.

[1] The difference between Visa Electron and Visa Debit, a similar product, is that payments with Visa Electron always require on-line electronic authorisation, and typically require that all the funds be available at the time of transfer, i.e., Visa Electron card accounts may not normally be overdrawn.

Most Visa Debit cards, on the other hand, may be processed offline, without online authorisation, and may allow transfers exceeding available funds up to a certain limit.

[2] Online stores and all offline terminals do not support Visa Electron because their systems cannot check for the availability of funds.

In addition to point of sale debit payments, the card also allows the holder to withdraw cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) using the Plus interbank network.