Visa Asia Pacific

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November 2006
Visa Asia Pacific

Number 17

The Strategist is a monthly enewsletter from Visa Australia and New Zealand.
For more information about Visa, visit www.visa.com.au or www.visa.co.nz.

Please send story ideas or comments to ausinfo@visa.com or nzinfo@visa.com

First Visa pre-paid gift card launches in New Zealand

Together with New Zealand Post, Visa has launched the first pre-paid gift card, called “Prezzy Card.” It is a disposable payment card loaded a single time by the purchaser with as little as $25 or as much as $500. Prezzy Cards can be used wherever Visa is accepted electronically - physically at the point-of-sale, over the Internet, by telephone and mail order and at more than 24 million merchant locations around the world. This extra utility makes Prezzy Card superior to store gift cards and vouchers.

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New ad campaign for Visa Debit in Australia

A new integrated advertising campaign for Visa Debit cards has been launched in Australia using television, cinema, print and online advertisements. The campaign, designed by Clemenger BBDO, will run throughout the month and again in January and uses special effects to great affect to show Visa Debit cards at the centre of everyday consumer transactions. Visa Debit is the most popular debit card in Australia with 4.3 million on issue.

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Visa defends fundamentals of payments system

Visa International’s Executive Vice President for Australia and New Zealand, Bruce Mansfield, said Visa would defend its position following the announcement of legal action by the New Zealand Commerce Commission. Mr Mansfield said Visa’s payment system delivered benefits to over a billion card holders worldwide. “The move by the Commerce Commission is serious and disappointing. We will defend the system that continues to deliver major benefits to all New Zealanders,” he said.

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Card fraud low in Australia – APCA figures

Figures released by the Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) have provided the first comprehensive report of fraud levels in Australia. The statistics confirm total credit and debit card fraud in Australia is low in comparison with developed countries across the globe and when compared to other forms of crime in Australia. For the year to 30 June 2006, of the 3.3 billion credit and debit transactions in Australia, just over a quarter of a million transactions were fraudulent. Visa said fraud rates in Australia are about half that of the world average and had halved since 2000.

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Rugby legends head Visa program for Rugby World Cup 2007

Five of the world’s greatest rugby players – Zinzan Brooke (New Zealand), John Eales (Australia), Martin Johnson (England), Philippe Sella (France) and Joel Stransky (South Africa) – will be the “Visa Rugby Legends” and official spokespersons for Visa’s global sponsorship of the Rugby World Cup 2007. The Visa Rugby Legends will be visible in a number of Visa merchant and cardholder promotions, including television commercials and an online debate forum in which the Visa Rugby Legends will pose topics of interest to the rugby community, inviting fans to participate.

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Kiwis get ready to party with Elton John

Visa cardholders had the exclusive opportunity to purchase tickets to Elton John’s one and only New Zealand performance in Wellington on December 6, before the rest of the country. Visa secured pre-sale ticket access to Elton John’s first New Zealand concert in eight years, as part of the Visa Entertainment program. Thousands of tickets were sold in the first hour of sales. To mark Elton John’s visit to New Zealand, Visa Entertainment and Trade Me are auctioning off the ultimate Elton John VIP treatment fan package. All proceeds from the sale will go to the New Zealand AIDS Foundation.

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Merchant security summits held

Visa held five successful summits in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Auckland and Wellington in October, educating merchants on data security standards. There was a strong attendance at both locations with representatives from a range of small to large merchants throughout the country. The summits came off the back of Visa research that highlighted the vast majority of merchants were willing to comply with global data security standards once they understood the benefits.

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Work/life balance more important than profits, survey shows

Almost half of small business owners believe achieving a good balance between family and work is the most important indicator of business success, according to a new survey by Visa and VECCI. However, 44 per cent are spending 20 or more hours a week on routine financial administration. The survey showed small business owners are turning to electronic payments to reduce their paperwork.

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UK's first pay-as-you-go Visa voucher set to revolutionise online shopping

Web users without a credit card are being offered pre-paid temporary Visa card vouchers to allow them to shop online. Ireland’s 3V Transaction Services is partnering with Visa, Irish Life and Permanent, and the Payzone cash acceptance network to launch pay-as-you-go online shopping vouchers. The Visa numbers are bought on a mobile phone and work like a mobile top-up scheme. Users do not need any credit checks or bank account details to take part in the scheme.

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Contactless payments on the rise

More than 40 million contactless devices such as payment cards will be in circulation globally by the end of 2006. By 2010, contactless technology will be used in more than half of all mobile phones, according to ABI Research. Visa has invested heavily in contactless technology. Since 2004, 300,000 Koreans travelling on high speed trains have been able to pay for drinks and snacks by tapping their contactless Visa smart cards on a machine aboard the train. The card holds an electronic purse, e-ticketing and digital certificate.

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Member News

Financial services provider Indue launched a new Visa Gold card at its recent conference on the Gold Coast.

Member News

Oliver Hume Real Estate in Melbourne recently offered a bonus $10,000 prepaid iChoose Visa card for buyers purchasing land to build a new home. The company joins Panasonic and Fujitsu among the growing number of businesses using prepaid cards as incentives.

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What’s coming up

23 November – Australian British Chamber of Commerce Smart Card lunch with Minister for Human Services Joe Hockey, sponsored by Visa, Sydney

For more information, please contact ausinfo@visa.com or nzinfo@visa.com