Visa, MasterCard Report 2003 Growth

Visa International yesterday reported that during the first half of 2003 commercial card volume grew to $159 billion, up 24 percent compared with the same period last year. The commercial side exceeded the growth rate of consumer spending for Visa.

Spending among small businesses accounted for much of the growth, spiking 26.4 percent, to more than $79.3 billion. "Small businesses are the cornerstone of every economy, and we are delighted to see that the remarkable growth in the small business segment is now generating volumes that match corporate and government Visa usage," said Lory Yeakle, senior vice president for commercial solutions at Visa International.

Medium and large business and government spenders nearly matched their small market counterparts with volume of $79 billion--a growth rate of more than 21 percent.

Meanwhile, MasterCard International yesterday reported growth within its payment programs in the first six months of the year. While the network did not break out commercial volumes, spending within its entire portfolio grew 6.3 percent, to more than $595 billion, "despite a slowdown in travel and spending in the wake of the SARS epidemic in Asia and the war in Iraq and ongoing economic lethargy around the world," said MasterCard president and CEO Robert Selander.