MIAMI, February 23, 2021 - Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) presents an analysis conducted by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), a Visa strategic consulting team for clients, revealing that in the Latin America and Caribbean region* online transactions penetration, which is the percentage of online transaction over the total Visa transactions, grew 5 percentage points in December 2020 when compared to December 2019 (pre-COVID year), showing an increase in the use of e-Commerce by cardholders in the region during the pandemic. The analysis also signals an uptick in the adoption of debit in the region, where debit transaction penetration, which is the percentage of debit transactions on the total Visa transactions, grew 4 percentage points in December 2020 versus December 2019.
As the one-year mark of the Covid-19 pandemic approaches and digital payments play a larger role in daily life around the world, understanding of consumer behavior and needs in Latin America and the Caribbean is key to support recovery.
“The analysis indicates an increase in the use of e-Commerce and debit transactions by consumers in Latin America and the Caribbean, signaling shift towards the adoption of digital payments during the pandemic compared to pre-COVID times,” commented Javier Vazquez, regional head of Visa Consulting & Analytics for Latin America and the Caribbean. “Digital payments are an onramp to digital and financial inclusion, which drives inclusive economic development. Insights on payments trends coupled with Visa’s know-how helps to support the payments ecosystem in understanding consumer preferences at this crucial time and prioritizing initiatives and incentives to stimulate digital payments adoption by individuals and businesses across markets.”
The analysis also identified that in the Latin America and Caribbean region, the number of cardholder transactions in digital goods was 2 times higher in December 2020 when compared to December 2019. Digital goods transactions include purchases related to gaming, apps, movies, TV streaming and e-books. The countries in the region that registered the largest increases in the number of transactions in digital goods year over year were Mexico, Bolivia and Honduras.
As a company that enables digital payments at nearly 70 million merchant locations around the world, Visa is committed to continue working and innovating on its payment solutions to provide increasingly convenient, streamlined and secure payment experiences to cardholders, both when making transactions through virtual channels or when making contactless or practically friction-free payments at physical points of sale. The Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) team, a group of consultants and experts in payments, works together with its clients, including governments, acquirers, issuers and merchants, to identify opportunities for improving their performance, and developing more innovative solutions that promote access and usage of financial services.
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*Methodology
The analysis is performed based on VisaNet transactional data from December 2019 to December 2020, comparing the number of transactions during the period and country specified. The analysis includes the following countries and territories in the Latin America and Caribbean region: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Dutch Caribbean Islands, Ecuador, El Salvador, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad andTobago, Turks and Caicos, U.S. Virgin Islands and Uruguay.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world's leading digital payments company. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network that enables people, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the vision of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/aboutvisa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.
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