Visa 2014 Annual Report Download - page 26

interchange reimbursement rates. In some jurisdictions, such as India, the governing authorities have
begun to regulate other rates or practices such as the merchant discount rate. See Item 1A—Risk
Factors—Additional regulation of interchange reimbursement rates may have a material, adverse
impact on our financial condition, revenues, results of operations, prospects for future growth and
overall business and Item 8—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Note 20—Legal Matters
included elsewhere in this report.
Network exclusivity and routing. We have historically had agreements under which issuers
received incentives if they agreed to issue Visa-branded cards or payment products that are processed
through VisaNet. Historically, issuers of some debit products outside the United States have chosen to
include only our network. These various practices are referred to as network exclusivity. The Dodd-
Frank Act limits the issuers’ and our ability to impose rules for, or choose various forms of, network
exclusivity and preferred routing in the U.S. debit network market segment. Other jurisdictions have
enacted similar limitations. See Item 1A—Risk Factors—The Dodd-Frank Act may continue to have a
material, adverse impact on our financial condition, revenues, results of operations, prospects for
future growth and overall business included elsewhere in this report.
U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Dodd-Frank Act created an independent
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) with responsibility for most federal consumer
protection laws in the area of financial services and new authority with respect to consumer protection
issues, including those pertaining to us to some extent. The CFPB’s future actions may make payment
card or product transactions generally less attractive to issuers, acquirers, consumers and merchants.
No-surcharge rules. We have historically implemented rules that prohibit merchants from charging
higher prices to consumers who pay using their Visa-branded card or payment product instead of other
means. As part of the settlement reached in the interchange multidistrict litigation, however, Visa has
agreed to modify our rules to permit surcharging on credit transactions under certain circumstances.
See Item 8—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Note 20—Legal Matters included
elsewhere in this report. Ten U.S. states as well as certain jurisdictions outside the United States have
taken steps to prohibit surcharging. In October 2013, a federal court granted declaratory relief and
issued an order permanently enjoining the enforcement of New York’s no-surcharge law, N.Y. Gen.
Bus. Law section 518, in a case brought by five retailers challenging the constitutionality of that law.
Data protection and information security. In accordance with governing law, we devote substantial
resources to maintain and continually refine our information security program in order to safeguard
account holder information and under certain circumstances, to provide account holder notification in
the event of a security breach. In addition, the U.S. Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
periodically reviews aspects of our operations in the United States to examine our compliance with
data integrity, security and operational requirements and standards, as well as other requirements
applicable to us because of our role as a service provider to financial institutions.
Anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism and sanctioned countries. We are subject to anti-money
laundering laws and regulations, including the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, as amended, including the USA
PATRIOT Act of 2001. In addition, we are also subject to the economic and trade sanctions programs
administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Controls (“OFAC”) that
prohibit or restrict dealings with certain countries, their governments and, in certain circumstances,
their nationals, as well as with specifically-designated individuals and entities such as narcotics
traffickers, terrorists and terrorist organizations. We have policies, procedures, systems and controls
designed to identify and address potentially impermissible transactions.
Government-imposed market participation influences and restrictions. Our market reach remains
limited by certain governments’ influence on their domestic payments competition and/or their
12