V/MC WORLDWIDE
VISA’s global card sales volume hit $2.9 trillion last year, rising 10% over 2002, as MasterCard’s worldwide gross dollar volume during 2003 grew 6%, to nearly $1.3 trillion. VISA’s fastest growing region was Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, where annual volume grew 34%, while MasterCard’s hottest region is Latin America, where 2003 GDV increased 31%. However, both networks posted decreases in Asia-Pacific, primarily due to the collapse of the South Korean card market. VISA’s Asia Pacific region produced card sales volume of US$438 billion, a 2% decline over 2002. MasterCard’s Asia/Pacific region reported GDV of $213.1 billion in 2003, a 9% decrease. VISA’s European Union region achieved card sales volume of $943 billion, an 11% increase over 2002, as MasterCard’s European GDV rose 13.5% in 2003 to $316.1 billion. VISA’s Latin America and Caribbean area produced card sales volume of $181 billion, a 16% increase over the prior year, while MasterCard’s Latin America region posted a substantial increase in GDV of 31.2% for 2003 to $53.0 billion. VISA’s volume in Central Europe, Middle East and Africa region was $139 billion, a 34% increase. MasterCard’s South Asia, Middle East/Africa regional volume grew 17.5% during 2003 to $11.3 billion. VISA’s Canadian card sales volume of $89 billion, represented a 9% increase over 2002, as MasterCard grew 15% in Canada to $41.7 billion in 2003 GDV. In the USA, VISA grew 10% to $1.1 trillion and MasterCard grew 6% to $637 billion.