Visa’s 3Q Profits Rise 9% As Digital Payments Increase

Payment processing giant Visa Inc. reported that its fiscal third-quarter profits rose 9% on an adjusted basis, benefiting from consumers and businesses moving their payments from cash to credit and debit cards, Ken Sweet reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Visa processed $3.325 trillion in transactions on its network during the quarter.

The San Francisco-based company said it earned $4.87 billion, or $2.40 a share, compared to a profit of $4.16 billion, or $2.00 a share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Visa earned $2.42 a share, in line with analysts' expectations according to FactSet.

Visa processed $3.325 trillion in transactions on its network during the quarter, up 7.4% from a year earlier. Much of the payment growth came from Europe and Latin America, but US payments grew by 5.1%, faster than US economic growth.

Visa earns a fee from every transaction processed on its network, varying from industry to industry and whether it’s done with a credit or debit card, but generally between 1% to 4%.

Since the pandemic, more consumers globally have been shopping online for goods and services, which has translated into more revenue for Visa in the form of fees.