Visa's V.me digital wallet has been in the works for a while now, but it looks like the service has finally begun making its way to market. This week, V.me launched in beta with online retailer Buy.com, just a few days after rival MasterCard debuted a similar payment platform, with its PayPass Wallet Services.

With this week's launch, Buy.com's customers will be able to create their own online V.me accounts, which they can fund with any American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa card. Much like PayPal, the service allows users to purchase items by simply logging into their accounts, rather than entering their credit card information. They can also use V.me to receive alerts and notifications about any activity on their Visa accounts, and will eventually be able to receive personalized offers and discounts, as well.

Buy.com is just the first among a group of online merchants that will participate in this beta trial, as Visa focuses on e-commerce before eventually bringing the service to mobile and in-store platforms, via NFC. As announced last month, V.me will launch in France, Spain, and the UK sometime this fall, and the carrier hopes to eventually bring it to other countries, as well.