Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. is a public company and, together with MasterCard one of the two major international companies for credit cards, debit cards and credit cards and employed approximately 10,000 people in 2013. The VISA brand is a recursive acronym and stands for Visa International Service Association. Visa grants licenses to banks around the world for the output of their cards ( issuing licenses) and for the settlement of contractors ( acquiring licenses). In Europe, the London-based Westminster branch Visa Europe Services Inc. is responsible. To the influence of the European branch also includes the non-European countries Turkey and Israel. The obligations and rights of the Visa perceive in the various states so-called Domestic Members.
- 2.1 Credit
- 2.2 Debit Cards
- 2.3 credit cards
- 2.4 PLUS
- 3.1 Germany
- 3.2 Luxembourg
History
The credit card is the further development of the earlier BankAmericard. In 1970, the National BankAmericard Inc. founded as founding members with 243 banks and 1976 renamed Visa. The blue and gold colors used in the Visa logo to the blue sky and the golden hills of the U.S. state of California symbolize, in the Bank of America was founded. From 1981 to 1987 Visa cards were only issued by the Bank of America in the Federal Republic of Germany. In April 1987, the subsequent Santander Direkt Bank AG took over the Visa Membership of the Bank of America. 1988 also followed the Citibank Private Clients AG and consumer Noris Bank GmbH. In 1992, the SGZ Bank AG and Postbank member of Visa and 1995 was followed by the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV ).
2006, Visa in the U.S. with a market share of 44 percent for credit cards and 48 percent for debit cards.
Visa is common with Europay International ( formerly Euro Card) and MasterCard International is one of the founders of the EMC specification for credit cards with chip.
With the latest generation of cards Visa offers the Visa payWave card to the possibility to pay directly via contactless Near Field Communication ( NFC) by holding the card in a secure system of point-of -sale.
In August 2010, Visa Europe also launched a pilot project in Germany with Deutsche Bank (DKB ) on the introduction of visa CodeSure card that has a random security code that is generated via a keypad on the map.
Antitrust dispute in 2007
Prior to the IPO 2008 2007 Visa paid to American Express extrajudicially 2.1 billion U.S. dollars to avoid a possible action by competitors. American Express Visa had been accused of anti-competitive behavior. Visa is to have its member banks banned between 1996 and 2004 to issue American Express credit cards.
IPO in 2008
On 19 March 2008 the credit card issuer Visa Inc., with headquarters in San Francisco succeeded in the largest IPO in U.S. history. Originally an issue price of 37-42 U.S. dollars had been raised. Due to high demand, 406 million shares were placed at a price of 44 U.S. dollars. Thus, the emission volume is about 17.86 billion U.S. dollars. Since the interest in purchasing securities on the second day extremely increased, further 40.6 million shares of visas have been allocated. On the day of the IPO, the securities ( trading symbol V) started in the New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) at a price of 59.50 U.S. dollars. Part of a share certificate reached a peak value of 69 U.S. dollars, but the price dropped to exchange end to 56.50 U.S. dollars for a total of 177 million traded securities.
Product portfolio
Credit
- Visa Classic
- Visa Premium ( Gold, Platinum, Infinite )
- For small to medium-sized businesses the output of special business cards ( Visa Commercial ) and for larger companies and authorities also in the corporate design is available as a Visa Corporate card.
- The Visa Infinite Card the UniCredit Bank AG is currently the only bank issuer of Visa Premium Card Inc. in Germany.
Debit Cards
- Visa Electron in Europe. This card is not embossed and can only be used at point of sale or on the internet. Visa Electron can be output as a debit, credit and prepaid card.
- V Pay, was introduced alongside Visa Electron from 2006 as chip and PIN -based debit card in Europe and is based on the EMV technology; can be used in many parts of Europe, both in the commercial as well as at ATMs, except in the Ukraine.
- Visa Check Card in the United States.
- Visa Debit Card in Japan, the U.S., Canada, Finland, Sweden and many other countries. By 2004 in the United Kingdom and Ireland marketed as " Visa Delta ".
- Visa Carte Bleue in France, may be issued as debit and credit card.
Credit cards
- Visa prepaid ( credit card), output in Germany by the following contractors:
- Baden -Württemberg Bank ( BW-Bank )
- Bank 1 Saar
- Commerzbank, until October 2010
- German Credit Bank ( DKB)
- ING -DiBa
- Landesbank Berlin ( LBB)
- Postbank
- Targobank
- Wirecard Bank
- Wüstenrot Bank
- Berliner Sparkasse
- Sparkasse Bremen
- Sparkasse Dortmund
- District Savings Bank Heinberg
- Kreissparkasse Ludwigsburg
- Kreissparkasse Ravensburg
- Kreissparkasse Freiberg
- Sparkasse Coburg - Lichtenfels
- Kreissparkasse Saarlouis ( KSK )
- Sparkasse Detmold
- Sparkasse Jena
- Sparkasse Landsberg Unterdießen
- Sparkasse Leipzig
- Sparkasse Merzig- Wadern,
- Sparkasse Offenburg / Ortenau
- City Savings Bank Augsburg
- Sparkasse Tauberfranken
- Sparkasse Trier
- TaunusSparkasse
- Volksbanks with the programs VR -Go and VR Future
- Volksbank Villingen
International:
- Visa Buxx in the U.S.
- Visa Payroll in England
- Load of Raiffeisen in Austria
PLUS
- Rare, but possible, the pure cash withdrawal card PLUS is analogous to the same ATM brand. Each Visa Plus card can be used worldwide at ATMs that have the plus - acceptance logo (similar to Cirrus ). The SparCard Postbank is eg a Visa Plus card.
Visa Europe
Visa Europe is a membership association - an organization owned and operated by its 4,600 European member banks - since July 2004 an independently registered companies.
In October 2007, Visa Europe Services Inc. independent of the new global Visa Inc., with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual license in Europe. The member organizations of Visa Europe come from 36 European countries. Head of Visa Europe is London. Other offices are located in Athens, Brussels, Frankfurt, Paris, Istanbul, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Stockholm and Warsaw.
Germany
For the issue of Visa cards than 2,500 banks and savings banks are responsible in Germany that offer the appropriate card with an individual pricing and service catalog as a member institution of Visa. Many suppliers offer for the first year visa credit card free or at a special rate, for example, for students or in conjunction with a new checking account, where credit cards are added for free as a bonus power. Some banks offer a permanently free visa card in combination with a free checking account.
This is very often a so-called charge card, when it is once per month a statement of the card transactions are then deducted by direct debit in one lump sum from one account ( checking account ). Purchases that are paid for with a credit card, in some cases only one month after the purchase invoice, so that a smaller interest rate advantage.
In December 2004, there were 404 202 and 2009, approximately 490,000 Visa acceptance locations in Germany and the possibility of obtaining cash with a credit card at 49 344 ATMs and 8,111 cash points. In early 2007 Visa agreed contracts for acceptance locations in retail markets of the Rewe Group, since 2008 also in 52 ProMarkt branches, plus Hugendubel and Peek & Cloppenburg stores. In addition to the immediate conclusion of a purchase contract, the charge runs from the credit card account only after the expiry of the selected billing period.
Luxembourg
As of November 1, 2011, customers receive from Luxembourg eleven commercial banks their V PAY card.
Business Model
The business of the credit card provider works as follows: Alone for the settlement of credit card payment fees. The risk of unpaid card debts carry banks and other organizations that issue the credit card. Many products of the visas are offered along with free checking account packages, which accrues a monthly or annual fee. Some packages offer Visa account - products without basic charges.