Visa International, Latin American and Caribbean
Region (LAC) reached US$110 billion in Point-of-Sale (POS) volume in the
four quarters ending December 2006. This represents a year-over-year
increase of 33 percent on all Visa-branded products in the region.
Visa’s debit and prepaid products were key drivers for growth at the
POS, registering an increase of 34 percent versus 2005 with a volume of
US$37 billion. Purchases made with Visa credit cards also grew 32
percent to US$73 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2006.
“Visa is part of the everyday lives of millions of people in the Region.
By working closely with our banks, we offer consumers and merchants the
right mix of innovation, incentives and benefits,” said Eduardo Eraña,
President of Visa International, Latin America and Caribbean Region.
“Visa’s growth in Latin America and the Caribbean reflects rising demand
by consumers and wider acceptance by merchants, as they recognize the
efficiency, convenience and security that are synonymous with our brand.”
With more than 2.4 million acceptance locations in the Region, Visa
LAC’s current strategy to increase merchant acceptance and card usage in
everyday purchases played a key role for the company’s growth during
2006. The result was an upsurge in the number of Visa debit and prepaid
transactions at POS in the Region, which increased 25 percent to a total
of 1.4 billion at the close of 2006.
The usage and acceptance of Visa have grown as consumer and merchants
are increasingly valuing the benefits of the Visa payment system
including convenience, greater access, speed, financial control,
security and reliability. Specifically, merchants are enjoying more
sales, payment guarantee, better expense management and increased profits.
Visa’s penetration in key areas such as gas stations, supermarkets, fast
food restaurants, healthcare and recurring payments have been key to
drive point-of-sale transactions in the Region. In addition, Visa’s
investments in new technologies, and its aggressive educational and
marketing campaigns to promote daily usage, have been instrumental to
increase demand by consumers and to reach non traditional segments.
“We are committed to bring the Visa experience into the mainstream, and
deliver innovative payments platforms to enhance and streamline
consumers and merchants’ everyday activities,” added Eraña.
*About Visa*
Visa connects cardholders, merchants and financial institutions through
one of the world’s largest electronic payments network. Visa products
allow buyers and sellers to conduct commerce with ease and confidence in
both the physical and virtual worlds. Visa is committed to the sustained
growth of electronic payment systems to support the needs of all
stakeholders and to drive economic growth.
Visa products currently generate more than $4 trillion in sales volume
worldwide. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world. In
addition, Visa/Plus is one of the world’s largest global ATM networks,
offering cash access in local currency in over 170 countries.
