Visa 2015 Annual Report Download - page 24

networks that have departed from the more traditional business model. The emergence of these
potentially competitive networks has primarily been via the online channel with a focus on eCommerce
and/or mobile technologies. PayPal and Alipay are examples. These providers compete with us directly
in some cases, yet may also be significant partners and customers of ours.
We also face increasingly intense competitive pressure on the prices we charge our financial
institution clients. We believe our fundamental value proposition of convenience, interoperability,
accessibility and security offers us a key competitive advantage. We succeed in part because we
understand the needs of the individual markets in which we operate. We do so by partnering with local
financial institutions, merchants, governments, non-governmental organizations and business
organizations to provide tailored solutions to meet their varied needs. We believe Visa is well-
positioned competitively, due to our global brand, our broad set of Visa-branded payment products and
our proven track record of processing payment transactions securely and reliably through VisaNet.
Employees
At September 30, 2015, we employed approximately 11,300 persons worldwide. We consider our
relationships with our employees to be good.
Government Regulation
Interchange reimbursement fees. We have historically set default debit interchange
reimbursement rates in the U.S. and many other geographies. During fiscal 2012, the Federal Reserve
implemented new rules under the Dodd- Frank Act, setting a cap on the maximum U.S. debit
interchange reimbursement fee assessed for debit products issued by large financial institutions.
These rules continue to have an adverse impact on our pricing, reduce the number and volume of U.S.
debit transactions we process and decrease our associated revenues. See Item 1A—Risk Factors—
The Dodd-Frank Act and other regulations and developments arising from the Dodd-Frank Act may
continue to harm our overall business included elsewhere in this report.
Certain jurisdictions outside the U.S. also regulate or have the power to regulate debit and credit
interchange reimbursement rates in their regions. For example, the Reserve Bank of Australia
regulates interchange reimbursement rates and the governing authorities in India regulate the
merchant discount rate. In May 2015, the EU published a regulation on interchange fees for card-
based payment transactions, and interchange caps for intra-regional debit and credit card transactions
will take effect on December 9, 2015. See Item 1A—Risk Factors—Additional regulation of interchange
reimbursement rates may reduce our transaction volumes and harm our overall business and Item 8—
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Note 20—Legal Matters included elsewhere in this
report.
Network exclusivity and routing. 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 and
prepaid network market segments. Other jurisdictions have enacted similar limitations.
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
by further regulating disclosures, payment card practices, fees, routing and other matters with respect
to credit, debit and prepaid cards.
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