Summary
Visa Inc. filed a Current Report (8-K) on December 1, 2021, providing preliminary performance metrics for November 2021, particularly focusing on growth rates relative to both 2020 and pre-pandemic 2019 levels. The report indicates a continued recovery in payment volumes and cross-border transactions, with notable improvements in travel-related spending and international markets. Key takeaways for investors include the resilience of U.S. payments volume, which remained strong relative to 2019, and a significant rebound in cross-border transactions, especially after the U.S. reopened its borders. The data suggests a positive trend for Visa's business as global economic activity recovers, with most metrics showing healthy year-over-year growth and substantial gains when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Key Highlights
- 1November U.S. payments volume was 133% of 2019 levels, consistent with October.
- 2Credit card volume within U.S. payments increased to 125% of 2019 levels, while Debit was at 142% of 2019 levels for November.
- 3Card-not-present spending (excluding travel) remained strong at 152% of 2019 levels.
- 4Travel spending, both card-present and card-not-present, surpassed 2019 levels for the first time since the pandemic began, reaching 75% of 2019 levels for cross-border travel excluding intra-Europe transactions.
- 5International market payment volumes generally increased from October levels relative to 2019, with notable strength in India, Australia, and New Zealand.
- 6Cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe transactions improved significantly, reaching 106% of 2019 levels in November, up 11 points from October.
- 7Global processed transactions were 126% of 2019 levels in November, in line with October.