Visa International has sold its 10% stake in CBSS, an issuer of prepaid benefits and meal cards, to the Brazilian banks Banco do Brasil and Bradesco, parent Visa Inc. announced Jan. 26.
The payments network said it expects proceeds from the sale to be about $100 million based on current exchange rates.
The subsidiary will maintain “a strong commercial relationship” with CBSS, which will continue issuing Visa Vale prepaid cards, Visa said in a press release.
“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 Visa’s strategy.
Visa International, Bradesco and BB Banco de Investimentos Banco Real, now part of Banco Santander, formed the venture in 1995, according to CBSS’s website. It launched the Visa Vale meal card in Brazil in 2003, according to the site.
