Cross-border volume rose 13% in the quarter, with June boosted by 2026 FIFA World Cup across North American host cities. CFO Chris Suh said July trends moderated and flagged a currency headwind for the fourth quarter
Visa‘s cross-border volume rose 13% year over year on a constant-dollar basis in the quarter to 30 June (Q3), and 12% excluding transactions within Europe. Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh attributed part of the increase to the FIFA World Cup in Visa’s earnings call, which he said lifted cross-border volumes in June, particularly in North America and Latin America.
Net revenue reached $11.6bn, up 14%, non-GAAP earnings per share were $3.32, up 11%, and payments volume passed $4tn for the first time in the company’s history.
The tournament ran from 11 June to 19 July across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and Visa’s fiscal third quarter closed on 30 June, capturing the group stage and the opening knockout matches. The final and the back half of the knockout rounds fall into the company’s fourth quarter, which ends 30 September.
A June boost from host-city spending
Suh said the World Cup lifted cross-border e-commerce and card-present volumes in host cities during June, alongside the timing of retail promotions.
The card provider has been FIFA’s payment technology partner since 2007 and handles cashless payments in stadiums and fan zones. The company also ran World Cup marketing tie-ins, including a $600,000 small-business programme split across host-market nonprofits and commissioned artwork from more than 20 artists.
Suh played down reliance on any single market. He said cross-border volume is well-distributed globally, with no region accounting for more than 25% of the total, and that Visa expects the underlying health of travel and e-commerce to continue into the fourth quarter. Total processed transactions reached 71.7bn in the quarter, up 10%, and payments volume grew 10% on a constant-dollar basis.
Volume rose faster than revenue
International transaction revenue, which the company earns on cross-border activity, grew 6% to $3.9bn. This trailed the 12% rise in cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe transactions.
Suh said the gap in growth was due to Visa lapping a peak in currency volatility a year earlier, when higher volatility had inflated the revenue line. A shift in mix toward lower-yield Visa Direct transactions also weighed on the yield. Visa Direct transactions rose 21% to 4bn in the quarter. Commercial and money movement solutions revenue rose 17% in constant dollars, while commercial payments volume climbed 13%.
Value-added services revenue grew 34% on a constant-dollar basis to $3.8bn, most of it from marketing services tied to the World Cup, according to TIKR. Data processing revenue rose 17% to $6.0bn, now Visa’s largest single revenue line.
A July slowdown and a Q4 currency drag
Spending moderated after the quarter closed. Through 21 July, U.S. payments volume growth slowed to 9% from 10% in the quarter, and processed transactions growth slowed to 9% from 10%. Cross-border volume excluding intra-Europe ran at 14% over the same period.
Suh flagged a currency headwind for the fourth quarter. He said currency volatility is expected to return to levels last seen in Visa’s first fiscal quarter, a larger drag than the company had built into its guidance.
Visa raised its full-year outlook after the quarter. It guides fourth-quarter net revenue growth to the high end of low double digits and full-year growth to the low end of the low teens, both on a non-GAAP adjusted constant-dollar basis.
