Visa celebrates one million card milestone in Jordan

Speaking at a press briefing, Anne-L. Cobb, President of Visa International's CEMEA region said: "Achieving the milestone of one million Visa cards is a result of the hard work by our Member Banks and we would like to congratulate them for their dedicated efforts in bringing modern payment to all sectors of the Jordanian society.

"Today, in a country of just five million people, Jordan boasts over one million Visa cards - this is an incredible achievement. And with a total of 7.3 million Visa cardholders across the GCC and Levant region, Jordan represents nearly 15 per cent of this figure, demonstrating the growing importance of this dynamic country."

From approximately 65,000 cards five years ago, card numbers have increased by nearly 1300 per cent - the fastest growth in the Middle East. Issuance of Visa cards over the past year was particularly high, averaging more than 20,000 cards per month. This means that nearly 700 cards were being issued every day.

Expenditure for the five-year period shows an equally impressive growth of over 500 per cent to $1.4 billion, with 65 per cent of this growth recorded over the last 12 months. This is a clear indication that Jordanians are becoming more accustomed to using cards.

Proof that Visa cards are gaining in popularity can also be seen in the number of transactions, which at the end of March 2003 stood at 12 million - 1000 per cent more transactions than in March 1999.

"A few years ago, there were a mere 70,000 Visa cards in circulation in Jordan. Use of cards was largely confined to international travel and high value purchases by affluent members of society. Since then, retail banking in this country has come a long way. The Jordanian banks' determination to extend the benefits of modern payments to all sectors of society has resulted in phenomenal growth, culminating in this million card milestone," explained Anne Cobb.

"This remarkable shift from cash to plastic would not have been possible without significant expansion of Jordan's acceptance network. Visa has been working very closely with its Member banks to establish the infrastructure for accepting card payments and will continue to work with the banks to promote the benefits of Visa cards and services to the banks' customers."

In the past five years, the payment infrastructure has radically improved offering Visa cardholders a far greater choice of places to use their cards. The number of Visa acceptance locations in Jordan including ATMs, shops and service outlets has doubled from 6,200 in 1999 to 12,400 at the end of March 2003.

Moreover, Jordan banks have jointly cooperated to implement chip technology resulting in a total of 5,000 chip-enabled terminals in the country - this figure represents 20 per cent of all chip terminals in the Middle East, demonstrating that Jordanians are fast embracing modern payments.

"I would also like to congratulate the Jordanian Government for its role in carrying out important banking reforms that have been crucial for the successful introduction of electronic payments in the country", Mrs Cobb added.

"The Jordanian Government have been very supportive of Visa. Following an agreement with the Ministry of Finance, Visa cards are now accepted in many of the Ministry of Finance departments - primarily income tax and custom duties offices," explained Cobb. "I believe that these initiatives will help to facilitate easy money payments for all Jordanians and provide a boost to Jordan's developing economy."