Visa 2011 Annual Report Download - page 12

Table of Contents
have extended the sponsorship through 2020. We are also one of six FIFA partners, which provides us with worldwide exclusive access to the FIFA World
Cup and more than 40 other FIFA competitions through 2014. This sponsorship creates a powerful opportunity to drive business, achieve maximum exposure
and improve brand lift, global reach and local relevance. In addition, we engage in marketing and sponsorship activities with other regional, national and local
companies, sports leagues or events, such as the National Football League in the United States, or with associations and companies, to provide customized
marketing platforms to clients in certain countries and regions.
Our merchant marketing activities bring added value to our merchant partners through the development of marketing programs customized for specific
merchants and industry segments. These programs, which we develop in conjunction with merchants, generate awareness for new acceptance channels and
locations and increase cardholder spending and merchant sales revenue through special offers and promotions.
In addition, we work on various fronts to maintain, enhance and protect our corporate reputation and brand. Our Corporate Responsibility program
helps ensure we positively impact the lives of those in our global and local communities. We do so by promoting financial literacy and inclusion, providing
humanitarian aid and community support, and engaging in responsible business practices. We continue to promote an understanding of Visa's role as a
payments network and articulate the ways that digital currency can advance economic empowerment and business efficiencies. To that end, Currency of
Progress, our corporate reputation campaign launched in October 2009, communicates the tangible benefits that Visa and digital currency delivers to
individuals, businesses, governments and economies.
Merchant Acceptance Initiatives
We aim to maintain and expand our merchant base by focusing on the needs of merchants and consumers and enhancing our programs to increase
acceptance in attractive and fast-growing segments, such as bill payment. Our efforts to address these needs include supporting the development of
technological innovations, delivering value-added information services, and evaluating potential modifications to our operating rules and interchange rates to
enhance the value of our payments network compared to other forms of payment. For example, in October 2010 we began offering a global program that
enables millions of face-to-face merchants to accept Visa cards for transactions of approximately $25 or less without requiring a cardholder signature, PIN or
providing a receipt, unless requested by the cardholder. This program can increase speed at the point of sale, enhance consumer satisfaction and deliver
operating efficiencies for merchants.
We also enter into arrangements with certain merchants under which they receive monetary incentives and rebates for acceptance of products carrying
our brands and increasing their payments volume of products carrying our brands or indicating a preference for our products.
Client Standards
Rulemaking and Enforcement. In general, our clients are granted licenses to use our brands and to access our transaction processing systems. Our clients
are obligated to honor our rules and standards through agreements with, and in certain cases non-equity membership interests in, our subsidiaries. These rules
and standards relate to such matters as the use of our brands and trademarks; the standards, design and features of payment cards, devices and programs;
processing; merchant acquiring activities, including use of agents; disputes between members; risk management; guaranteed settlement; client financial
failures and allocation of losses among clients.
We establish dispute management procedures between clients relating to specific transactions. For example, after a transaction is presented to an issuer,
the issuer may determine that the transaction is invalid for a variety of reasons, including fraud. If the issuer believes there is a defect in a
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