Visa International Unveils Metric to Track Global Business and Government Spending

Using CCE, Visa International estimates that total business and government spending in 2004 amounted to US$54.8 trillion, compared to US$41.5 trillion five years ago, a 32 percent increase. For 2005, global CCE is predicted to be US$58.5 trillion, a 6.7 percent increase over 2004. Utilizing methodology developed in-house by Visa and unveiled in 2004 as part of a U.S.-specific CCE index, global CCE draws upon government data in methods similar to the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index, which monitors consumer-related spending. Global CCE is estimated using four key data elements: the amount of business-to-business purchases to acquire goods and services used in production; wholesale and retail purchases of final goods; some business capital expenditures; and government spending on goods and services. Adjustments were made for capitalized expenditures, such as construction and durable defense spending. The calculations measure transactions at basic prices, which include taxes (less subsidies) on production. The types of transactions included in CCE can be captured on a variety of Visa products including Visa Corporate, Visa Commerce, Visa Purchasing, Visa Business and Visa Distribution. Overall electronic and paper-based business and government spending within Visas six global regions breaks down as follows: Europe: US$19.9 trillion United States: US$14.5 trillion Asia Pacific: US$13.7 trillion Central/Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa: US$2.9 trillion Latin America/Caribbean: US$2.3 trillion Canada: US$1.5 trillion Global payment trends indicate a movement towards electronic-based transactions, providing a significant opportunity for Visas suite of commercial products. Visa commercial solutions are cost-effective and provide added value through increased transparency and control, straight-through processing and enhanced data reporting. The global CCE index establishes a valuable baseline for measuring market penetration growth and effectiveness for Visa and its member financial institutions. Visa will provide an updated global CCE forecast annually.