Wachovia Unveils Designs of 5 Visa Cards With Stored Value for Olympics

Wachovia Corp., one of three southern bank participants in Visa International's stored value project for the Olympics in Atlanta, unveiled the designs of its first Visa Cash cards.

The five-card "Salute to Atlanta" series features athletes in different events against a backdrop of the Atlanta cityscape.

The bank's stored value program will begin in January with a pilot test in cafeterias at Wachovia headquarters in Atlanta.

Disposable cards, in denominations of $10, $20, and $50, will be available to consumers in Wachovia branches in April.

An estimated two million people are expected to descend on Georgia's capital for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

The cards will be accepted by merchants in the Olympic Village as well as selected merchants throughout Atlanta.

First Union Corp., another bank participant, recently announced 12 merchants that it has signed to accept Visa Cash cards.

The merchants include Baskin-Robbins, BellSouth, Blimpie, Chick-fil-A, Crown Central Petroleum, Taco Bell, and others.

First Union also signed the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.

Wachovia Corp. and NationsBank Corp., the third participant, have not revealed merchant agreements, but NationsBank began its pilot test of its Visa Cash cards in October.

NationsBank, the official bank sponsor of the Olympics, has the exclusive right to acquire and process card transactions conducted by merchants within the Olympic Village.