Visa’s profits jump 32% as consumers start traveling again

By KEN SWEET
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Visa Inc. said Tuesday that its fiscal third quarter profits rose 32% from a year earlier, helped by yet another double-digit rise in the amount of money processed on its credit and debit card network.

The payment processing company said it earned a profit of $3.4 billion, or $1.60 a share, compared to a profit of $2.57 billion, or $1.18 a share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding one-time costs, Visa earned $1.98 per share this quarter, which was much better than the $1.75 a share that analysts had been expecting, according to FactSet.

San Francisco-based Visa has been benefiting from a worldwide migration from cash to digital forms of payments, either through online shopping or through the increased use of contactless payments. The company processed $2.939 trillion on its network last quarter, up 12% from a year earlier. Visa earns a small fee from every transaction that crosses its network, depending on the type of transaction and the merchant who used it.

Most notably cross-border payments were up 40% from a year earlier, a signal that consumers are returning to their pre-pandemic traveling habits.

“Consumers are back on the road, visiting various corners of the world, resulting in cross-border travel volume surpassing 2019 levels for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020,” said Al Kelly, chairman and CEO of Visa, in a statement.