Visa's Olympic exclusivity fuels EU payment debate

MILAN, Italy: Visitors buying merchandise at the Milano Cortina Winter Games are encountering a payments reality that has long troubled European policymakers: the dominance of foreign card providers and the diminishing use of cash.

Under a sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee that began in 1986 and runs through 2032, Visa is the sole card provider at the Games. Signs at official stores