Visa 2008 Annual Report Download - page 109

Table of Contents
VISA INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
September 30, 2008
(in millions, except as noted)
Note 1—Organization
Visa Inc. ("Visa" or "the Company") is a stock corporation incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware, United States of America. Visa Inc.
and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Visa U.S.A. Inc. ("Visa U.S.A."), Visa International Service Association ("Visa International"), Visa Canada Inc.
("Visa Canada") and Inovant LLC ("Inovant") operate the world's largest retail electronic payments network. Visa Inc. facilitates global commerce through
the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses and government entities. Visa Inc. provides financial
institutions, its primary customers, with product platforms encompassing consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments. VisaNet, a secure,
centralized, global processing platform, enables Visa Inc. to provide financial institutions and merchants with a wide range of product platforms, transaction
processing and related value-added services.
The Company does not issue cards, set fees, or determine the interest rates consumers will be charged on Visa-branded cards. The Company's issuing
customers have the independent responsibility to individually determine these and most other competitive card features. These functions are performed by the
Company's customer financial institutions in competition with one another.
Prior to the October 2007 Reorganization
Prior to the October 2007 reorganization, Visa operated as five corporate entities related by ownership and membership: Visa U.S.A., Visa International
(comprising the operating regions of Asia Pacific ("AP"), Latin America and Caribbean ("LAC"), and Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
("CEMEA")), Visa Canada, Visa Europe Limited ("Visa Europe") and Inovant, a majority owned subsidiary of Visa U.S.A., which operated the VisaNet
transaction processing system and other related processing systems. Each of Visa U.S.A., Visa Canada, Visa Europe, Visa AP, Visa LAC and Visa CEMEA
operated as a separate geographic region, serving its member financial institutions and administering Visa programs in its respective region.
October 2007 Reorganization
In order to respond to industry dynamics and enhance Visa's ability to compete, in a series of transactions occurring from October 1 to October 3, 2007,
Visa undertook a reorganization, as more fully described in Note 3—The Reorganization, in which Visa U.S.A., Visa International, Visa Canada and Inovant
became direct or indirect subsidiaries of Visa Inc. For financial accounting and reporting purposes, the Company has reflected the reorganization as a single
transaction occurring on October 1, 2007 (the "reorganization date"), the date all contractual conditions to the closing, other than those of a perfunctory
nature, were met. Visa Europe did not become a subsidiary of Visa Inc., but rather remained owned and governed by its European member financial
institutions and entered into a set of contractual arrangements with the Company in connection with the reorganization. In the reorganization, the Company
issued different classes and series of common stock reflecting the different rights and obligations of the Visa financial institution members and Visa Europe
based on the geographic region in which they are located. In addition to common stock, the Company provided other consideration to Visa Europe, as more
fully described in Note 4—Visa Europe, in exchange for its ownership interest in Visa International and Inovant.
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