Visa Inc. and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce have extended by three years their partnership that provides Hispanic-owned merchants with customized access to Visa’s suite of small business products, according to a Sept. 14 Visa announcement.
Part of that deal puts Visa as a primary sponsor of the chamber’s Convention & Business Expo, said to be the largest gathering of Hispanic business leaders in the U.S., slated for Sept. 18 to 21 in Miami Beach.
U.S. Census data that show that Hispanic-owned firms grew by nearly 44% between 2002 and 2007 to 2.3 million, which was more than double the national growth rate of 18%, Visa noted in the release.
Visa initially announced its alliance with the chamber in March 2010, which aims to help “strengthen and grow” the card network’s relationships with 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses that are part of the chamber’s advocacy efforts, a Visa spokesperson said in an email statement.
“Visa remains focused on continuing to raise awareness of the benefits offered by this partnership, which includes giving U.S. Hispanic-owned small businesses access to all the benefits of digital currency, including guaranteed payment, the potential for increased sales, enhanced record keeping and faster checkout times,” the spokesperson noted.
Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the chamber of commerce, said in a press release the alliance demonstrates that Visa understands “the power of the Hispanic entrepreneur,” and said its support will help “the engine of economic recovery” in U.S. communities.
As part of the deal, Visa offers Hispanic chamber members access to such resources as the Visa Business Network, which is a dedicated community available through Facebook that provides small business owners exclusive access to networking opportunities with other businesses, advisors, news feeds, videos, blogs and editorial comment on how such issues as cash flow management and new ways to attract customers.
Prepaid card issuers, including Visa, also are targeting the Hispanic market, though they are more focused on consumers (
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