Visa Inc. said Wednesday that its Visa International unit sold its 10% stake in CBSS, an issuer of prepaid benefits and meal cards, to the Brazilian banks Banco do Brasil and Bradesco.
The San Francisco payments network said it expects proceeds from the sale to be about $100 million based on current exchange rates.
Visa said in a press release that its subsidiary will maintain "a strong commercial relationship" with CBSS, which will continue issuing the Visa Vale prepaid cards.
"We have successfully delivered on our objective to grow the Visa Vale platform in Brazil through our strategic partnership with CBSS," Ruben Osta, the country manager for Visa do Brasil, said in the release, adding that expanding prepaid card use is important to its strategy.
According to CBSS' website, the venture was formed by Visa International, Bradesco and BB Banco de Investimentos Banco Real, now part of Banco Santander, in 1995. It launched the Visa Vale meal card in Brazil in 2003, according to the site.
