Equifax 2000 Annual Report Download - page 6

The Global Opportunity
Equifax continues to extend its businesses in
many ways. International expansion is a major
growth driver in our Information Services
business, which already has a presence in
every significant Latin American economy. We
further integrated our international operations
through a reorganization that allows man-
agement teams in North and Latin America
to share best practices and resources. We
also further solidified our European position
in 2000 with the acquisition of SEK S.r.l., a
leading Italian information services company.
European operations now encompass four key
markets – the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal
and Italy – enabling us to provide cross-border
consumer and commercial information to the
Pan-European business community.
Overseas markets represent an extraordinary
opportunity for Payment Services, the area
of the Company that provides credit card
processing and check risk management
services. The dramatic increase in credit
card use outside the United States and our
focused strategic investments have led to
explosive growth in the number of cards
processed by Equifax – producing 25 per-
cent year-over-year revenue growth in 2000
for our international Card Solutions busi-
nesses. The Company’s proprietary card pro-
cessing software, now in use in more than
30 countries, is a key competitive advantage.
Its scalability, portability and flexibility make
it an ideal vehicle for global expansion.
Several major developments in 2000
furthered this expansion. First, the acquisi-
tion of Procard, Chile’s second-largest cred-
it card processor, gives us immediate access
to Latin America’s third-largest economy. It
also complements our position in Brazil,
where we are the leading third-party
bankcard and private label card processor.
A 64 percent year-over-year increase in the
number of cards processed confirms our
dominance of the Brazilian market – the
region’s largest economy. Second, a major,
new contract with the National Australia
Bank represents a significant strategic mile-
stone for Card Solutions. By establishing a
card processing facility in Australia in mid-
2001, we will be in a strong position to target
similar opportunities in the vast Asian and
Pacific Rim markets. And finally, as momen-
tum in the United Kingdom continued to
grow strongly, we increased our 51 percent
interest in Equifax Card Solutions Limited
(U.K.), our joint-venture business, to full
ownership in September.
05
Domestic
International
CARD SOLUTIONS –
NO. OF CARDS 1996 – 2000
In millions
The number of credit cards managed by Card
Solutions has grown 18.2 percent on a compound
annual basis.
29.9
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
18.0
21.1
24.3
35.2