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Visa's global credit card payment volume decelerated during the quarter ended June 30, while its debit card payment volume continued to rise, Visa Inc. announced yesterday. Visa reports its operational-performance data one quarter later than its financial results. The card brand's fiscal year ends Sept. 30. U.S. debit sales volume for the fiscal third quarter totaled $220 billion, up 4.8% from $210 billion during the same period last year. U.S. debit transaction volume grew 13.2%, to 6 billion from 5.3 billion. Some 352 million Visa debit cards were on issue in the U.S. at the end of June, up 14.3% from 308 million a year earlier. Debit volumes include Visa's signature-based check card and Interlink PIN-debit programs. Visa's U.S. credit card sales volume fell 9.9% during the quarter, to $192 billion from $213 billion a year earlier. U.S. consumers initiated 2.28 billion credit card purchases, down 2.6% from 2.34 billion. Some 309 million Visa credit cards were on issue in the U.S. as of June 30, down 7.8% from 335 million a year earlier. Outside the U.S., debit card sales volume rose 7.9%, to $41 billion from $38 billion, while total debit transactions increased by 27.9%, to 1.1 billion from 860 million. Some 589 million debit cards were on issue outside the U.S. at the end of June, up 9.9% from 536 million a year earlier. Credit card sales volume outside the U.S. fell 1.7%, to $234 billion from $238 billion, while total credit transactions rose 10%, to 3.3 billion from 3 billion. Some 482 million credit cards were on issue outside the U.S. at the end of June, up 3.9% from 464 million a year earlier. Total network volume globally (payments plus cash volume) was $1.08 trillion, down 2.7% from $1.11 trillion. For the fiscal fourth fiscal quarter, Visa says it processed 10.5 billion total transactions through its Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and Plus brands, up 9.4% from 9.6 billion during the same period a year ago. Joseph W. Saunders, Visa chairman and CEO, told analysts during a conference call yesterday that "we are beginning to see some very early signs of stabilization and some positive trends in aggregate." He later added that "while we cannot predict the ultimate speed or size of the economic recovery, ... we are feeling more positive about trends for the first time in a long while." Visa reported fourth-quarter net income of $514 million, which compares with a loss of $356 million during the same period last year. Net operating revenue increased 9.9%, to $1.88 billion from $1.71 billion. Adjusted operating expenses rose 1.8%, to $960 million from $943 million.
