Visa reports a 23.3% payments volume growth in Latin America

Visa Inc posted its year results for Latin America and Caribbean businesses. During the year ended December 31, 2010 the company achieved regional payments volume growth of 23.2% with Brazil recording 24.6%, Mexico 16.8%, and the rest of Latin America and Caribbean as a group reporting a 22.8% yearly growth.

For the quarter ending on December 31, 2010, the busiest season of the year, Visa’s payments volume for Latin America and the Caribbean grew by 26.7% to US$82 billion. The number of transactions processed by the Visa network in Latin America and the Caribbean reached 916 million during the same quarter, which represents 226 million more transactions than the same period in 2009.

Payments volume for Visa debit products in 2010 reached a 28.2% growth in Brazil, 19.1% in Mexico and 29.0% in the rest of Latin American and Caribbean countries as a group.

Likewise, increased access to credit in emerging economies boosted Visa’s credit payments volume for a yearly growth of 22.6% in Brazil, 14.8% in Mexico and 20.4% in all other Latin American and Caribbean countries. In 2010 Visa aggressively promoted Visa Gold, Visa Signature, Visa Platinum, and Visa Infinite cards, its credit products for affluent consumers, which were the main drivers of growth for the credit segment.