Visa Latin America and Caribbean Region Reports 2006 Ecommerce Growth

"The proliferation of e-commerce has provided local consumers with unprecedented access to products and services and local businesses with lower entry barriers to global markets," said Jurgen Wassmann, vice president of e-commerce and new channels, Visa International Latin America and Caribbean Region. "Online sales represent a great deal of benefits not just for large companies, but for small and midsize businesses as well, who account for more than 90 percent of the region's economy."

The evolution of the e-commerce sector is dependent on the collaboration of governments, financial institutions, merchants and consumers. High-growth markets in the Region had solid results during this period. Among the highest growth markets, Chile grew at a rate of 100 percent, Venezuela followed with an increase of 85 percent and Argentina grew by 80 percent. In Addition, Brazil grew 70 percent, while the Andean region as a whole grew at a rate of 65 percent. Mexico and the Caribbean grew at 40 and 35 percent, respectively.

Security continued to be a key driver during this period mainly because consumer confidence is a determining factor for conducting online transactions. Visa is committed to providing the most secure form of payment through Verified by Visa, a unique service that uses personal passwords or identity information to help protect Visa card numbers against unauthorized use.

Today, more than 80 Visa member financial institutions in 20 countries in Latin America have implemented Verified by Visa, increasing penetration of authenticated transactions by more than five times in the last two years.