US Banker | January 2010
By Kathy Brister
Anyone who has seen Visa Inc.'s advertisements from its latest "Currency of Progress" campaign can't help but notice the stark contrast from its ubiquitous "Visa: It's Everywhere You Want to Be" message.
Instead of encouraging consumers to spring for that ski trip or new dining room set, the ads aim to redefine the company best known for branding credit cards as a facilitator of global commerce. One television spot uses a mother's story to explain how Nebraska's shift to Visa prepaid cards for child support payments is saving the state more than $350,000 a year, while helping recipients get their money quicker. Another ad shows how Visa debit products have helped move millions of unbanked consumers in India into the banking mainstream.
The shift in strategy is an attempt by Visa to distance itself from the banking industry, which, over the last 18 months, has lost much of its credibility - with both consumers and policy makers. Though its name is branded on more than one billion bank-issued credit and debit cards, Visa points out on the marketing campaign's Web site, currencyofprogress.com, that it "is not a bank, and doesn't issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers."
Says Doug Michelman, Visa's global head of corporate relations: "We want to recast the perception of Visa as a company that is not part of the problem, but part of the solution. We want people to pause and think about what they increasingly take for granted. This is, in fact, great technology."
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