Based on the industry’s single most important performance measure -- purchases at the point of sale --Visa recorded sales of US$192 billion, a growth of 28 percent over the year ending December 2000.

“During 2001, Visa consolidated its lead over its major competitors in every regional measure, including the value and number of transactions at the point of sale, withdrawals of cash and the total number of cards issued,” said Visa International Asia Pacific President and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Keeley.

Keeley attributed the increase in retail sales volume to consumers’ strong preference for the Visa brand and its leadership in many industry initiatives, including chip, secure e-commerce, mobile commerce, new acceptance channels for cards and fraud reduction measures.

“While card statistics need to be reviewed with a degree of caution to ensure meaningful comparison, it is clear from the comprehensive data in The Nilson Report that, thanks to strong support from and performance by our member financial institutions, Visa’s results exceeded all other card competitors,” said Keeley. “With the power and strength of the Visa brand, our partnerships with the industry’s strongest players, leadership in technology and the consumer’s preference for our card products, we are well poised to deliver strong results once again in 2002,” Keeley concluded.