Visa saw earnings increase 35 per cent in the first quarter, despite the global financial crisis that has led to losses at many other US companies, the world's largest credit card issuer said Wednesday.
The earnings amount to 574 million dollars and are largely thanks to particularly strong international business, Visa said in San Francisco. Revenues rose 17 per cent to 1.7 billion dollars, dpa reported.
In the first quarter that ended in December, spending volume rose 12 per cent to 701 billion dollars, while the number of cards was up 10 per cent worldwide to 1.7 billion.
Visa and competitor MasterCard have come through the financial turmoil relatively well, because they earn money through processing fees and issue cards through banks rather than doing so directly. American Express, which issues its own cards, has faced losses amid rising defaults.