Visa International Exceeds US$315 Billion Milestone in Global Commercial Volume

Visa International Exceeds US$315 Billion Milestone in Global Commercial Volume

September 27, 2006

Achievement Demonstrates Ever-Increasing Business and Government Adoption of Visa Commercial Solutions

    FLORENCE, Italy, Sept. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
EuroFinance Conference -- Visa International today
announced that the value of all purchases and cash
withdrawals made with Visa Commercial payment solutions
worldwide has reached US$317 billion for the four quarters
ended June 30, 2006. The achievement of this total, as well
as the accompanying 24 percent year-on-year global growth
rate, underscores the widespread adoption of Visa
Commercial payment products and services by businesses and
governments worldwide.

    "Reaching the $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 $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 $200 billion mark in October 2004 and $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.

    Notes to Editors:

    About Visa Commercial: Visa Commercial payment
solutions -- Visa Business, Visa Corporate, Visa
Purchasing, and Visa Commerce -- combine payment with
information to create intelligent payment solutions that
enable business and government organizations of any size
and type to reduce costs, streamline operational and
payment processes, and make more informed business
decisions. Backed by Visa's unsurpassed acceptance and
utility, Visa Commercial products and services provide the
most complete way to manage payment-related processes,
including travel and entertainment and procurement
expenditures, payroll distribution, and information
management. For more information, visit
http://www.visa.com/visacommercial .

    About Visa: Visa connects cardholders, merchants and
financial institutions through 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. As an association owned by
20,000 member financial institutions, Visa is committed to
the sustained growth of electronic payment systems to
support the needs of all stakeholders and to drive economic
growth. For more information, visit
http://www.corporate.visa.com .

    For more information, please contact:

     Sabine Middlemass 
     Visa International
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Angela Sherratt
     Visa Europe
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Ian Budd 
     Burson-Marsteller
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 

SOURCE  Visa International