Full Description

Visa Inc., incorporated on May 25, 2007, operates a retail electronic payments network. The Company facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses and government entities. Its primary customers are financial institutions, for which it provides product platforms encompassing consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments. VisaNet, its centralized, global processing platform, enables the Company to provide financial institutions and merchants with a range of product platforms, transaction processing and related value-added services. The Company owns a family of payment brands, including Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS and Interlink, which it licenses to its customers for use in their payment programs. It manages and promotes its brands through advertising, promotional and sponsorship initiatives, and by card usage and merchant acceptance.

The Company offers a range of branded payments product platforms, which its customers use to develop and offer credit, debit, prepaid and cash access programs for cardholders (individuals, businesses and government entities). The Company also provides transaction processing services (primarily authorization, clearing and settlement) to its customers through VisaNet. It provides other value-added services to customers, including risk management, debit issuer processing, loyalty services, dispute management and value-added information services. It develops new products and services to enable its customers to offer payment methods to their cardholders and merchants. The Company also adopts and enforces rules adhered to by its customers to ensure the secure functioning of its payments network, and the maintenance and promotion of its brands.

In October 2007, the Company undertook a reorganization of the global Visa enterprise. Prior to its reorganization, Visa operated as five entities related by ownership and membership: Visa U.S.A., Visa International (comprising the operating regions of Asia Pacific (AP), Latin America and Caribbean (LAC), and Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA)), Visa Canada, Visa Europe and Inovant, which operated the VisaNet transaction processing system and other related processing systems. As a result of the reorganization, Visa U.S.A., Visa International, Visa Canada and Inovant became direct or indirect subsidiaries of Visa Inc. Visa Europe did not become a subsidiary of Visa Inc., but rather remained owned by its member financial institutions and entered into a set of contractual arrangements with Visa Inc. in connection with the reorganization.

Transaction Processing Services

The Company’s processing services involve the routing of payment information and related data to facilitate the authorization, clearing and settlement of transactions between Visa issuers and acquirers. In addition, it offers a range of value-added processing services to support its customers’ Visa programs, and to promote the growth and security of the Visa payments network. The Company process all transactions occurring entirely within the United States, the majority of domestic transactions (such as transactions where the issuer and the merchant are located in the same country) in certain other countries, as well as all cross-border transactions, involving products carrying its brands. It performs clearing and settlement through its VisaNet system for transactions involving an issuer that is located in Visa Europe’s region and an acquirer that is located in the rest of the world, or vice versa. In addition, the Company provides clearing and settlement services for Visa transactions occurring within Visa Europe’s region.

Other Value-Added Processing Services

The Company’s network and its processing capabilities allow it to offer a range of other services in certain countries. These services include risk management, debit issuer processing, loyalty services, dispute management and value-added information services. The Company’s network architecture allows it to monitor, on a real-time basis, all transactions that it process for authorization. Visa Debit Processing Services provides processing services for participating United States issuers of Visa debit, prepaid and automated teller machine (ATM) payment products. In addition to core issuer authorization processing, Visa Debit Processing Services offers card management services, exception processing, personal identification number (PIN) and ATM network gateways, call center services, fraud detection services and ATM terminal driving.

The Company offers loyalty services are designed to allow its customers to differentiate their Visa program offerings, to support increased card usage and to increase the importance of Visa payments to merchants. It manages Visa Resolve Online, an automated Web-based service that allows its customers’ back-office analysts and customer service representatives to manage and resolve Visa transaction disputes. Visa Resolve Online, which is mandatory for all Visa customers, provides real-time access to Visa transaction data, electronic transfer of substantiating documents, and automated management of communications between issuers and acquirers. It provides the customers with a range of additional information-based business analytics and applications, as well as the transaction data and associated infrastructure required to support them. The Company owns and operates VisaNet, its global processing platform, which consists of three synchronized processing centers. In addition, Visa Europe operates one processing center in the United Kingdom, which is part of its synchronized system in accordance with the terms of the framework agreement with Visa Europe.

Product Platforms

The Company offers a range of product platforms to enable its customers to build payment programs for their consumer, business, government and merchant clients. Its principal payment platforms enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit and prepaid payments, as well as cash access, for consumers, businesses and government entities. Its payment platforms are offered under its Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands.

The Company’s consumer credit product platforms allow its issuers to offer deferred payment and financing products that can be customized to meet the needs of all consumer segments. Its baseline consumer credit platform is marketed to its issuers as Visa Traditional in the United States and Visa Classic in the rest of the world. In addition, the Company offers premium credit platforms, which enable its issuers to tailor programs to consumers requiring higher credit lines or enhanced benefits, such as loyalty programs. Its premium consumer credit platforms are marketed to issuers, and in some cases, to cardholders, as Visa Gold, Visa Platinum, Visa Signature and Visa Infinite.

The Company’s deposit access product platforms enable its issuers to offer consumer payment and cash access products that draw upon consumer deposit accounts, such as checking, demand deposit, asset or other pre-funded accounts. Its primary consumer debit platform uses the Visa brand mark. Through its rules and product platform requirements, the Company further segment its Visa debit product platform into Visa Classic, Visa Gold, Visa Platinum and Visa Infinite, which allows the issuers to customize their Visa debit programs and offer a range of benefits to their debit cardholders. The Company provides the Interlink debit product platform in the United States and certain countries in the Asia Pacific (AP) region. Interlink is a single-message, point-of-sale debit network. Interlink allows the issuers to provide a range of debit card offerings to their deposit account customers.

Visa Electron is a payment product platform that permits issuers to require all transactions initiated from the card to be authorized electronically. It is primarily used by issuers offering payment programs to higher risk customer segments or in countries where electronic authorization is less prevalent, such as certain markets in the AP, Latin America and Caribbean (LAC), and Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) regions. The Visa POS Check Service enables merchants to convert the account information on a consumer’s check into an electronic Visa transaction message at the point of sale if the check is drawn on a demand deposit account held at a participating Visa customer.

The Company’s customers can provide global cash access to their cardholders by issuing products accepted at Visa and PLUS branded ATMs. Its prepaid product platform enables issuers to offer products that access a designated pool of funds, allowing cardholders to enjoy the convenience and security of a payment card in lieu of cash or checks. Its prepaid platform includes gift, travel, youth, payroll, money transfer, voucher replacement, corporate incentive, insurance reimbursement and government benefits cards. The Company’s commercial product platforms enable multi-national, large, medium and small companies and government organizations to streamline payment processes, manage information and their supply chain, and reduce administrative costs. The commercial platforms include Visa Business Credit, Visa Business Check Card, Visa Business Debit, Visa Signature Business, Visa Business Electron, Visa Corporate, Visa Purchasing, Visa Fleet, Visa Distribution, Visa Commercial One Card and Visa Commerce.

The Visa Corporate product platform offers payment options for travel and entertainment charges, including cash advances, and provides detailed transaction data, which allows companies to track policy compliance and supplier management. The Visa Business credit and debit platforms provide small businesses with cash flow tools, purchasing savings, rewards and management reporting. Visa Business Electron is an electronic authorization platform used in many countries outside North America and has authorization controls that are similar to those of the consumer Visa Electron products.

Payments Network Management

The Company engages in a range of activities designed to maintain and enhance the value of its brand. Its integrated approach to brand management and promotion combines advertising, sponsorships, promotions and public relations to create programs that build active preference for products carrying the Company’s brand, promote product usage, increase product acceptance, and support cardholder acquisition and retention.

The Company competes with MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, JCB, Discover, China UnionPay, First Data Corporation, Metavante Corporation, Interac, EFTPOS, Total System Services, Inc., Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC/Metris, U.S.A.A., Barclaycard U.S., GE Consumer Finance, Inc., First Bank & Trust, Central National Bank & Trust and Brenham National Bank.