Visa expands regional presence with new Levant office

Housed in Amman, the new operations will be headed by general manager, Said Shuqom, who highlighted the growing trend of card payments in the region: "The number of times a Visa card is used by Lebanon cardholders has grown incredibly - in just four years, transaction numbers grew 10 fold from around 620,000 in March 1999 to reach over 6 million at the end of the first quarter this year."

"The relentless efforts of our member banks have made Visa branded cards a preferred choice of payment, resulting in much higher usage than ever before. Considering this growing popularity, we believe there is enormous potential in Lebanon and we are confident that with our extended presence in the region, we will no doubt be able to take this success even further ahead."

According to Visa's annual figures as at 31 March 2003, Lebanon was the second fastest growing market across Middle East in terms of transaction numbers which grew by 54 per cent compared to the same period in 2002, thereby beating other countries such as Saudi Arabia and UAE, which recorded growth rates of 43 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

Also announcing the office opening was Jonathon Cabedo, Vice President of Visa International in the Middle East. He added that "Lebanese cardholders continue to use Visa for regular payments pushing up total expenditure volumes by 58 per cent to reach over US$ 1 billion in the last year." Cabedo attributes this to the increased use of cards for everyday spending such as grocery, clothing and other day-to-day purchases rather than just for high purchases such as travel and entertainment.

As seen in most parts of the world, Lebanon cardholder payment patterns indicate a strong move towards retail spending. Cardholders are fast breaking the cash habit as illustrated by a 36 per cent increase in transactions made at shops, restaurants and other retail locations in the last year which generated 27 per cent higher spending volumes.

Cabedo noted a marked increase in card numbers as a result of the dynamic marketing campaigns of member banks: "From March 2002 to March 2003 Visa cards in circulation have increase by 54 per cent to 331000 in number, the majority of which are debit cards such as Visa Electron. Traditionally perceived as an ATM card, Visa Electron cards are today largely used for everyday shopping."

He added that rise in card numbers were complemented by the country's widespread acceptance infrastructure offering a far greater choice of locations to use cards as a payment tool. As of 31 March 2003, this figure stood at 12,000 locations, an impressive network considering the geographical size of Lebanon.

On the technology front, Shuqom stressed that the region will see further growth in the area of chip cards, "Lebanon was the first country in Middle East where Visa chip cards were introduced in 2000 by a consortium of seven local banks who brought new meaning to security of card payments. "Since then, chip card numbers have increased to 50,000, and are anticipated to rise further in advance of the EMV compliance deadline in year 2006.

In countries around the world where Visa chip cards have already made an entry, such as in France, Germany and Austria, chip cards already carry out a variety of functions including loyalty programmes and identity information, while in Japan chip cards are extensively used in transport systems.

Shuqom concluded: "Lebanon's affinity for electronic payments is very encouraging and we are confident that with the increased focus on the region and continued efforts of our member banks we can look forward to a very bright future for Visa in the region."