Visa processing more Check Card transactions than credit card transactions

WASHINGTON – Visa USA has announced that it processes more Check Card transactions than credit card transactions. Check Cards use Visa platforms to make purchases from consumer checking accounts instead of credit lines. According to Cardweb.com, VISA Check Cards now represent 35% of VISA's total U.S. card volume, compared to 17% just five years ago. In 2001, VISA processed 6.9 billion debit card transactions compared to 6.2 billion credit card transactions. Since 1996, VISA's off-line debit card or Check Card volume has more than tripled even though its market share has declined somewhat, from 84% to 77%, even though credit cards still significantly outnumber check cards. VISA now has 260 million credit cards versus 117 million Check Cards in the U.S. During 2001, VISA processed $323,989,969,000 in Check Card volume, a 26.8% increase over the previous year. Of the $324 billion in gross debit card dollar volume posted last year, $205.3 billion was in purchases and $118.7 billion was in cash advances.