Visa Transaction Volumes Take Coronavirus Hit

Visa said it has been adversely affected by the limitations placed on people to avoid spreading the coronavirus, and its transaction volumes have severely decreased, according to a report by Reuters.

The company said social distancing and shelter-in-place measures have had a huge effect on consumers’ ability to spend, and that it would probably see mid-single-digit percentage growth in revenue in the second quarter.

“As countries have imposed social distancing, shelter-in-place or total lock-down orders, domestic spending, most notably in travel, restaurants, entertainment and fuel, has sharply declined week on week,” Visa said, according to the report.

March also saw a steep drop in cross-border spending related to the virus, as well as the transaction volume drop. Visa is not alone in its predicament as Mastercard, PayPal and American Express have seen similar consequences.

In March, Visa reported that payment volume was down 4 percent from 2019, and that it predicts operating expense growth will be in the high single digits and earnings per share growth will be low single digits.

Analysts are estimating a revenue of $5.83 billion and an amount of $1.36 for earnings per share ending on March 31. Visa had previously warned that Q2 revenue growth was going to come in under forecast.

Visa has made other moves in response to the crisis as well. Earlier this week, it delayed introducing a new merchant fee structure.

The fee structure will now be implemented in July instead of April. It would raise credit card transaction fees for some merchants and lower them for others.

“Visa is committed to partnering with our clients during this difficult time,” said a Visa spokesperson. “We are actively implementing and considering a number of ways we can proactively support our clients to ensure the stability, security, reliability and resiliency of the digital payments ecosystem.”