Visa Cited as Most Trusted Brand in Reader's Digest Study
San Francisco, CA (ots)
Visa Emerges as Most Trusted Credit Card Brand in RecentInternational Study
Visa has been selected "the most trusted credit card brand" in international research conducted by Reader's Digest magazine, polling subscribers spanning Europe, Canada and Brazil.
Across Europe, the survey revealed that Visa is considered by consumers to be the most trusted credit card brand in 17 of 18 countries, with an average of 54 percent of the votes. Visa emerged as the most trusted credit card brand in both Canada and Brazil. Visa earned 44 percent of the votes in its category in Brazil (nearly twice that of the runner-up), and in Canada, Visa collected some 53 percent of votes, twice that of MasterCard.
"We are honored to be named the most trusted credit card brand in these key markets," remarked John Elkins, head of Global Brand and Marketing for Visa International. "This award reflects the efforts of our member banks to provide the best possible payment solutions to cardholders. We understand the award not only recognizes our efforts, but ensures that we continue to maintain and enhance the standards of our products and services in the future."
The European survey polled respondents in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Each country, with the exception of Germany, which historically is not a payment card oriented country, selected Visa as the most trusted credit card brand. The study was not conducted in some major markets such as United States, but may be expanded globally to include this and others in future studies.
Across these regions, the research featured self-completion questionnaires mailed to 228'000 households, and via telephone in Canada. The study was conducted in 16 languages, and monitored a selection of up to 40 product categories in each region.
Designed to identify the brands in each category that consumers value and rely upon most, fieldwork took place in late 2002. Each of the 30'000 respondent households was demographically representative of each country. Brands were rated based upon quality, value, image and understanding of customer needs, as well as the importance of trust when making a purchase.
About Visa
Visa is the world's leading payment brand, generating US$2.4 trillion in annual card sales volume. Visa has unsurpassed acceptance in more than 150 countries. The Visa organization plays a pivotal role in developing innovative payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce- the ability to conduct commerce anywhere, anytime, and any way. For more information, visit www.Visa.com.
About the Survey -- Research Overview:
- 228'000 questionnaires mailed, 30'000 households responded
- Identified from subscriber database of 7 million homes
- All households demographically representative of population
in each country
- Research methods varied slightly from region to regioni.e.,
- Canada conducted telephone study across 1'000 homes
- Research featured self-completion questionnaires (Europe &
Brazil)
- Conducted in 16 languages -- 20 countries
- Monitoring a selection of up to 40 product categories in each
region
- Designed to identify the brands in each category consumers
value and rely upon most
- Brands were rated based upon quality, value, image and
understanding of customer needsContact:
Michael T. Sherman
Visa International
Phone: +1 650-432-3923
Email: sherman@visa.com
Norbert Beatty
GCI Group
Phone: +1 212-537-8131
Email: nbeatty@gcigroup.com