Visa International Projects NZ$210 Billion in 04

Visa International Projects NZ$210 Billion in 2004 Global E-commerce Sales New Zealand e-commerce sales volume expected to exceed NZ$400 million

18 January 2005 - Visa International today announced that it expects 2004 global e-commerce sales volume to exceed NZ$210 billion, a 56 percent increase over volume of NZ$134 billion on 2003. Online Visa sales originate in over 90 countries, purchased with Visa cards issued in over 150 countries worldwide. Cross border transactions now represent 16 percent of all Visa e-commerce transactions, up from 15.2 percent a year ago.

Visa's e-commerce sales volume for 2004 is expected to exceed NZ$400 million in New Zealand - an increase of 95 percent on the previous 12 months. Cards are the preferred method of payment online, with more than 50 percent of total online payments done using Visa credit or debit cards. In New Zealand, the average e-commerce transaction is NZ$141, accounting for 3.5 percent of all Visa transaction volume.

"Consumers are increasingly confident about the Internet as a global retail channel, particularly as services like Verified by Visa make online shopping safer," said Mr. Bruce Mansfield, General Manager, Australia and New Zealand for Visa International. "A secure foundation coupled with increased demand for specialized products not offered in local markets continues to drive cross border transaction volume growth."

To address the security concerns and to increase consumer confidence, Visa and its members launched the Verified by Visa online authentication service in Asia Pacific three years ago. To date, over 50 million Visa cards in Asia Pacific have been enrolled for Verified by Visa. More than 75 Visa members and close to 5000 online merchants in the region are now participating in the program. The roll-out of Verified by Visa commenced in New Zealand in 2004 and so far 300,000 cards are enrolled.

"We believe that consumer confidence comes from an increased familiarity with the channel and the improved security available for online shoppers," continued Mansfield. "With cardholder authentication using Verified by Visa, virtually all fraud-related chargebacks have been eliminated."

The Verified by Visa program continues to grow on its own merits with key merchant participants having proved the business case and serving as models for smaller online merchants. More than 10,000 member financial institutions and 30,000 merchants are now participating in the Verified by Visa program globally.

# # # Notes to Editors:

About Verified by Visa: Verified by Visa is based on the Three Domain ("3-D") Secure protocol, the payment industry's Internet authentication standard. Developed by Visa, 3-D Secure allows card Issuers to authenticate cardholders using passwords, chip cards, digital certificates, etc., during the purchase transaction. Verified by Visa can be readily integrated into existing merchant e-commerce systems with little impact on the checkout process. More than 30,000 merchants have adopted Verified by Visa and 10,000 member financial institutions make the service readily available to over 355 million consumers globally.

About Visa: Visa is the world's leading payment brand generating US$3 trillion in annual card sales volume. Visa has unsurpassed acceptance in more than 150 countries. The Visa organization plays a pivotal role in developing innovative payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce-the ability to conduct commerce anywhere, anytime, and any way. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com

About Visa in Asia Pacific In Asia Pacific, Visa has a greater market share than all other payment card brands combined with 62 percent of all card purchases at the point of sale being made using Visa cards. There are currently 229 million Visa-branded cards in the region. During the 12 months ended 30 September 2004, US$455 billion was spent at point of sale or withdrawn from ATMs in Asia Pacific using Visa cards. Visa Asia Pacific's Internet address is http://www.visa-asia.com.

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