SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) announced today the renewal of its partnership with
the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) through 2012, which
includes the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Winter Games and the 2012 London
Paralympic Games.
Visa, the first global sponsor of the IPC and sponsor of four Paralympic
Games since 2002, remains the official payment service and only card
accepted at all Paralympic Games venues to purchase Paralympic tickets,
official Games merchandise, or food and beverages in venues.
As part of the renewal agreement, Visa will retain exclusive marketing
and promotional rights within the Payment Services category and
activation opportunities for financial institution clients and merchants
throughout the world. New benefits include title sponsorship of the
Paralympic Hall of Fame and branding opportunities on various IPC media
assets including ParalympicSport.TV.
This renewal follows the recent extension of Visa's Olympic Games
sponsorship for another eight years - through 2020 - enabling Visa's
financial institution clients and merchant partners to continue to build
strong relationships with their customers through unique Visa marketing
programs.
"At Visa, we are dedicated to the continued support and success of the
Paralympic Games, the participating athletes and the entire Paralympic
Movement," said Antonio Lucio, Chief Marketing Officer of Visa Inc.
"With more than 500 million people worldwide living with a disability,
we understand the importance of providing continued support to this
community. Through events such as the Paralympic Games, we at Visa are
proud to support the values of empowerment and inclusion."
"We are extremely pleased that Visa has extended its partnership with
the IPC, helping to raise awareness of the Paralympic Games and the
achievements of Paralympic athletes worldwide," said Sir Philip Craven,
President of the IPC. "Visa's involvement through technology, expertise,
products and personnel is fundamental to the staging of the Paralympic
Games and we look forward to a successful relationship in the years
ahead."
By engaging in dialogue, raising awareness of existing Visa products and
services (e.g., online banking and bill payment, Visa Paralympic
website), developing new technologies specifically for the needs of
persons with a disability (e.g., voice-activated and Braille ATMs),
extending issuance, and creating an affinity with Visa's global network
of financial institution clients, Visa provides this global community
with greater access and choice.
Athlete Support & Paralympic Hall of Fame
Visa has created a unique global athlete program, Team Visa, to provide
long-term support to Paralympic and Olympic hopefuls as they prepare for
one of the greatest challenges of their lives: competing at the
Paralympic and Olympic Games. Since 1986, Visa has helped athletes
achieve their dreams by providing many of them with financial support,
financial literacy training and valuable marketing exposure in pursuit
of their goals. In the run-up to the 2010 Winter Games, Visa will
support selected Paralympic and Olympic athletes, all with the potential
to be selected for their National Teams. Paralympic hopefuls that are
members of Team Visa Vancouver include: Alexi Salamone, Ice Sledge
Hockey (US); Colette Bourgonje, Cross-Country Skiing (Canada) and Brian
McKeever, Cross-Country Skiing (Canada).
Extending its commitment to the athletes, Visa's Paralympic Games
sponsorship includes the continuation of the Visa Paralympic Hall of
Fame, which was established in 2006 to celebrate the achievements and
spirit of Paralympic athletes and their coaches for the betterment of
people with a disability as a whole. It is the first and only program of
its kind and honors Paralympic athletes and coaches who have
demonstrated successful athletic performance, a history of fair play,
and participation in community service.
The Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame election and induction ceremonies are
held in conjunction with the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. To
date, a total of six Paralympians and two coaches have been inducted
into the Hall of Fame in ceremonies in Torino, Italy and Beijing, China.
For the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, three inductees - two
Paralympians and one coach - will be inducted into the Visa Paralympic
Hall of Fame. The sponsorship of the Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame is
anchored in its vision of greater worldwide acceptance of people with a
disability. Visa helps to facilitate progress toward such acceptance by
providing products and services that promote access for the community of
people with a disability and by promoting awareness of athletes with a
disability. For more information, please visit: http://www.paralympic.org/hof/main.html.
Paralympic Games Sponsorship History
Prior to becoming the first global sponsor of the IPC in 2002, Visa
supported of a number of Paralympic sports federations around the world
and is a two-time sponsor of the Paralympic Congress. The Nagano 1998
Paralympic Winter Games were the first Paralympic Winter Games that Visa
directly supported by providing an international ATM network for
visitors and athletes, online customer services for Visa cardholders,
and extending merchant acceptance locations within select Paralympic
venues.
About Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers,
businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200
countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency.
Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced
processing networks--VisaNet--that is capable of handling more than 10,000
transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and
guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue
cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's
innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to
offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with
prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com
About IPC
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing
body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter
Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine
sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships
and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic
athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport
opportunities for persons with a disability from the beginner to elite
level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which
include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.
SOURCE: Visa Inc.
Visa Inc.
Nancy Panter, 650-432-1454
npanter@visa.com
or
Fleishman Hillard for Visa Inc.
Jamie Soper, 415-318-4184
Jamie.soper@fleishman.com