Visa Exceeds US$315 Billion in Global Commercial Volume

"Reaching the US$317 billion mark in global commercial sales volume in such a short period of time clearly demonstrates our tremendous growth and success in this sector and solidifies Visa's position as the global commercial market leader," said Aliza Knox, senior vice president, Visa Commercial, Visa International. "By offering a commercial product suite that combines data with payment to provide business intelligence, Visa helps corporate and government clients alike make better decisions, improving efficiency and increasing the bottom line. This in turn creates invaluable business opportunities for our member financial institutions in the commercial marketplace."

The announcement that Visa has reached the US$317 billion in global sales volume, made at the annual EuroFinance International Cash and Treasury Management conference in Florence, Italy, follows the announcements that Visa had reached the US$200 billion mark in October 2004 and US$255 billion in October 2005 in global commercial sales volume.

"Commercial card products for businesses and governments represent the biggest growth opportunity in the card industry, particularly in developed markets. No consumer credit product will grow faster in coming years," said David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report.

Luc Janssen, Head of Visa Commercial, Visa Europe added, "Companies across Europe are increasingly using Visa Commercial cards as a business and cash management tool, with a 17% percent expenditure growth rate in the past year. A number of markets have grown particularly significantly in the last year - for instance, in the mature and emerging markets, our French market grew by over 20%, and the growth rate in Turkey was 69%. Businesses all over Europe, both large and small, are realizing that Visa Commercial cards provide an easy, convenient way to purchase goods and services, and manage business expenditure."

In addition to the overall success of Visa Commercial products and services, all Visa regions experienced double-digit growth in commercial sales volume, with the majority registering an annual growth increase of at least 20 percent.

Visa Commercial provides payment products with information management and services designed to help businesses and the public sector achieve cost savings, greater efficiency, control, and convenience. With unsurpassed acceptance in more than 160 countries worldwide, Visa operates the world's largest electronic payments network and offers a broad product suite capable of meeting a variety of business and government needs.