Banks score from World Cup

Figures released by Visa this week show that card transactions by people using foreign-issued cards increased by 79% for the 40 days around the Soccer World Cup.

Compared with the same 40 days last year, one million more foreign-card transactions took place, with spending increasing by R900-million to R2,3-billion.

That means on average foreigners spent R57-million a day on their Visa cards.

Accommodation, air transport, car rentals, retail and restaurants accounted for approximately 90% of spending.

But it wasn’t only these sectors that scored—banks would have seen a sharp increase in fees earned from these card transactions. FNB announced a 75% increase in FNB ATM traffic based on foreign cards.

While Visa is the only card payment company to release figures so far, based on its 50% market share one could conclude that total foreign card spend could be as high as R4,6-billion over the 40 days.

Assuming the average merchant fee is about 3%, banks would have made about R140-million in card fees over the 40 days.

The biggest spenders were the United States and United Kingdom, at R442-million and R440-million respectively.

Not only did the Spanish win the Cup, but they also managed to outspend The Netherlands—they spent $4,1-million compared with the Dutch’s $1,8-million. Perhaps there is a lesson there for future finalists?

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