The European banks that currently own Visa Europe are thinking of setting up their own competing payments network in Europe. Not only would this mean new competition for the card giant in its European markets, but it would also mean that Visa would have to buy the European network from its current owners — at a price that could go as high as $11 billion, industry analysts said.

Visa Inc. and Visa Europe are actually separate businesses with their own clearance systems, said a report in the Wall Street Journal. While the U.S. brand is public, the European brand is owned by FIs and operates as a licensee of Visa Inc., to which it pays royalties.

A deal to purchase Visa Europe could cost Visa Inc. anywhere from $3 billion to $11 billion, depending on a number of complicated factors, including the Visa Inc. price-to-earnings ratio and projected adjusted income for Visa Europe.

According to the WSJ article, the purchase could present both benefits and obstacles for Visa Inc. On the plus side, combining the entities could give Visa stronger bargaining power with major banks. Additionally, it could allow Visa to develop new markets, such as Turkey, where the brand has not previously operated due to its European structure.

On the minus side, though, Visa Inc. ownership of the network would expose the company to the economic risks of the European debt crisis, and would also make it subject to merchant transaction fee regulations currently under consideration by European regulators. Visa would also have to tackle the behemoth task of converting European bank clients to the American processing platform.

The WSJ report did not say when the European banks would make a final decision about divestment, but quoted a source saying the plan to sell was in "advanced stages of planning." Visa Inc. declined to comment on the matter.