V.me by Visa Adds More Top eCommerce Retailers, Simplifying Checkout for Consumers

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct 15, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (NASDAQ: FLWS) today announced V.me by Visa will be offered as a checkout option on the site, allowing shoppers a simple and secure way to make purchases online. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM joins a list of many V.me eCommerce merchants, making the digital wallet service more broadly available so more consumers can purchase online by simply entering a username and password.

V.me is Visa's new digital wallet service designed to streamline the checkout process by removing the hassle of continually entering account numbers, bill-to and ship-to information. Whether shopping for shoes, clothing, movie tickets or sunglasses, the V.me checkout button is an option at a number of online merchants, including Rakuten Buy.com, StudentUniverse.com, MovieTickets.com, BlueNile.com, ShoeBuy.com, ZooStores.com, Cooking.com, 88Hours.com and Scentiments.com. V.me stores personal account information behind layers of security within Visa's industry-leading network, so consumers can make purchases with a simple click of a mouse or touch on a mobile browser.

Consistently ranked among the top Internet retailers by Internet Retailer, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM will, like other leading eCommerce merchants, help consumers speed through the online checkout process with V.me as a preferred payment option. V.me offers merchants and consumers alike a checkout experience that delivers the security, reliability and convenience they've come to expect from Visa.

Ecommerce is one of the fastest growing economic sectors, with Forrester Research predicting that U.S. consumers will spend $327 billion online by 2016, up 45 percent from $226 billion this year.

"1-800-FLOWERS.COM has always been a leader in streamlining the customer experience online, and by adding V.me, we can focus on what we do best, provide great gifts appropriate for every occasion," said Jim McCann, CEO 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. "We are committed to offering our customers the best checkout experience available."

"Today marks another milestone in our promise to deliver the security, reliability and convenience merchants, financial institutions and consumers demand in their shopping experience," said Jennifer Schulz (@Jen_Schulz), global head of eCommerce, Visa Inc. "We're working closely with leading eCommerce retailers like 1-800-FLOWERS.COM to deliver the V.me service to even more consumers, simplifying checkout whether they're shopping from a PC, laptop or mobile device. With 23 eCommerce merchants and counting, we're making the next generation of commerce a reality today."

Consumers can sign up today for V.me at any of the merchants that have integrated V.me, or online at www.v.me. V.me account holders can enroll Visa and other payment card accounts in the wallet service, and easily switch between card accounts at checkout. Visa account holders can also set personalized alerts through V.me to help track spending and prevent fraud. In the future, V.me account holders will be able to redeem coupons, track loyalty programs and receive near real-time offers from their favorite brands based on where and how they shop.

In addition to merchants, PNC online account holders can also sign up for V.me. PNC represents the first U.S. bank to integrate with the service, reaching more than 1.2 million PNC Virtual Wallet® customer accounts, and a commitment to make V.me available to more than 6.3 million accounts in 2013.

About Visa Inc.

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks - VisaNet - that is capable of handling more than 24,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

About 1-800-Flowers.com

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is the world's leading florist and gift shop. For more than 35 years, 1-800-FLOWERS® (1-800-356-9377 or www.1800flowers.com) has been helping deliver smiles for our customers with gifts for every occasion, including fresh flowers and the finest selection of plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods, confections, candles, balloons and plush stuffed animals. As always, our 100% Smile Guarantee backs every gift. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM's Mobile Flower & Gift Center was named winner of the Mobile Shopping Summit's "Best Mobile Site of 2011." 1-800-FLOWERS.COM was also rated number one vs. competitors for customer service by STELLAService and named by the E-Tailing Group as one of only nine online retailers out of 100 benchmarked to meet the criteria for Excellence in Online Customer Service. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has been honored in Internet Retailer's "Hot 100: America's Best Retail Web Sites" for 2011. The Company's BloomNet® international floral wire service (www.mybloomnet.net) provides a broad range of quality products and value-added services designed to help professional florists grow their businesses profitably. The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM "Gift Shop" also includes gourmet gifts such as popcorn and specialty treats from: The Popcorn Factory® (1-800-541-2676 or www.thepopcornfactory.com); cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl's® (1-800-443-8124 or www.cheryls.com); premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May® confections brands (www.fanniemay.com and www.harrylondon.com); gift baskets and towers from 1-800 Baskets.com® (www.1800baskets.com); incredible, carved fresh fruit arrangements from FruitBouquets.com^sm (www.fruitbouquets.com); wine gifts from Winetasting.com® (www.winetasting.com); top quality steaks and chops from Stock Yards® (www.stockyards.com); as well as premium branded customizable invitations and personal stationery from FineStationery.com® (www.finestationery.com). The Company's Celebrations® brand (www.celebrations.com) is a premier online destination for fabulous party ideas and planning tips. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is involved in a broad range of corporate social responsibility initiatives including continuous expansion and enhancement of its environmentally-friendly "green" programs as well as various philanthropic and charitable efforts. Shares in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, ticker symbol: FLWS.

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SOURCE: Visa Inc.

Visa
Lee Mokri, 650-432-2990
globalmedia@visa.com