Visa International

I INTRODUCTION
Visa International, credit card and payment system company based in Foster City, near San Francisco, California. Visa is the world’s largest consumer payment company, with more than one billion cards issued, more than $1.8 trillion in transactions annually, and more than half of the world’s market in transactions. Visa is collectively owned by more than 21,000 member financial institutions around the world. These institutions issue Visa cards, and each establishes the terms that it will offer to consumers, such as rates and fees.

II ORIGINS
Visa traces its roots to 1958, when Bank of America, based in San Francisco, issued the BankAmericard (see BankAmerica Corporation). At the time, many banks in the United States offered charge cards, or cards that enabled consumers to charge goods and services to an account. Banks required cardholders to then pay their account balances in full each month. Unlike charge cards, the BankAmericard offered cardholders credit privileges, so they could pay their balance over a longer period of time in increments, plus interest. Bank of America licensed the card throughout California and eventually in other states as well.
The BankAmericard suffered from transactions problems and fraud during the early 1960s because of unreliable interchange systems between Bank of America and other banks licensed to issue the card. In 1968 Dee Ward Hock, an executive of the National Bank of Commerce in Seattle, Washington, headed a committee of BankAmericard licensees that was formed to resolve the problems among credit-card issuers. Two years later Hock was instrumental in creating National BankAmericard Inc. (NBI), a consortium of BankAmericard licensees designed to conduct more reliable transactions between the banks. NBI bought the domestic bankcard system from Bank of America, and Hock became the head of NBI. By 1970 the BankAmericard and its biggest competitor, Master Charge (later MasterCard), were offered nationwide, and most banks had eliminated their own bankcard programs to join one or both of the national systems.

III VISA CARD INTRODUCED
In 1974 Hock formed IBANCO, which took over administration of BankAmericard’s foreign operations. In 1977 Hock changed the name of the BankAmericard to the Visa card. NBI became Visa U.S.A. and IBANCO became Visa International. Visa International Incorporated became the umbrella organization for Visa’s business units. Visa International and Visa U.S.A. share corporate headquarters in Foster City.

IV GROWTH
In 1977 MasterCard held 60 percent of the bankcard business, compared with 40 percent for Visa. By 1983 those percentages were reversed, making Visa the leading U.S. credit card. Credit-card use expanded dramatically in the 1980s, and Visa continued to dominate the market. Visa had 56 million cardholders worldwide in 1979, but that figure rose to 220 million ten years later.
Credit-card use continued to grow in the 1990s as businesses ranging from supermarkets to health care providers began accepting payment with cards. Visa also offered premiums, such as airline discounts, for using its card. The number of Visa cards worldwide increased from 255 million in 1990 to more than one billion in 2000. The company’s revenues grew from $720 million in 1990 to $1.8 billion in 2000.
Of the more than $1.6 trillion in credit-card transactions worldwide in 1996, 55.8 percent used a Visa card, making it the worldwide leader in the credit-card industry.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

VISA

I INTRODUCTION
Visa, formal endorsement placed by government authorities on a passport, indicating that the passport has been examined and found valid by the nation to be visited, and that the bearer may legally go to his or her destination.

II ENTRY VISA
An entry visa signifies that the bearer has received official permission to enter a country as a visitor; it does not, however, guarantee admission. Entry visas serve the general purpose of enabling a government to limit and control the entry of aliens into a country. These visas are of two general types: the passport entry visa, which is issued to persons who wish to enter a country for a visit of stated duration, and the immigration entry visa, which is issued to persons who want to enter and settle permanently in the country.
In the U.S., the requirement of entry visas became an integral part of the immigration system in 1917. Prior to that year aliens were permitted to enter the United States without a visa but were subject to exclusion on various grounds. The immigration laws were strengthened by Congress during World War I, when strict control over the entry of aliens was deemed essential to curtailing enemy espionage and sabotage. Several enactments passed since 1918 have fully defined the visa requirements for both immigrants and nonimmigrants and have rendered them increasingly stringent. Racial restrictions on the immigration and naturalization of aliens were removed and provision was made for the immigration of defectors from Communist countries by the terms of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. American consular officers may refuse entry visas to aliens only on specific grounds set forth in the immigration laws, including mental defects, affliction with a dangerous contagious disease, conviction for crimes involving moral turpitude or illicit narcotics traffic, fraud or willful misrepresentation in procuring a visa, membership in certain proscribed organizations, and prospective activities in the U.S. believed prejudicial to the public interest or dangerous to the welfare, safety, or security of the nation.
Aliens applying to U.S. consular officials abroad for immigration entry visas are normally required to present documentary evidence of their status as responsible and law-abiding citizens of their own country. They must submit to a mental and physical examination and establish their eligibility to receive an immigrant visa. Numerical limitations have been levied on the number of aliens who may immigrate to the United States each year. Certain classes of aliens, including the spouses and children of U.S. citizens, are exempt from numerical limitations. See Immigration; Immigration and Naturalization Service.

III EXIT VISA
Some nations require that their own citizens obtain exit visas—that is, government authorization to leave the country—before traveling or settling abroad. Exit visas are frequently required by countries in which unfavorable political, social, or economic conditions have resulted in a marked rise in emigration. By restricting exit visas, such countries can check or even halt the flow of emigrants. Notable among the governments that instituted the use of exit visas were the Fascist regime in Italy, from 1922 to 1943, and the National Socialist regime in Germany, from 1933 to 1945. China and a number of other countries have continued this practice to the present time.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

CREDIT CARD, DO YOU FAMILIAR WITH IT?

Credit Card, card that identifies its owner as one who is entitled to credit when purchasing goods or services from certain establishments. Credit cards originated in the United States in the 1930s; their use was wide-spread by the 1950s. They are issued by many businesses serving the consumer, such as oil companies, retail stores and chain stores, restaurants, hotels, airlines, car rental agencies and banks. Some credit cards are honored in a single store, but others are general-purpose cards, for use in a wide variety of establishments. Bank credit cards, now also in use in Europe, are examples of the general purpose card. Establishments dispensing almost every form of product or service are honoring such cards, and it is predicted that credit cards might some day eliminate the need for carrying cash.
When a credit card is used, the retailer records the name and account number of the purchaser and the amount of the sale, and forwards this record to the credit card billing office. At intervals, usually monthly, the billing office sends a statement to the cardholder listing all the charged purchases and requesting payment immediately or in installments. The billing office reimburses the retailer directly.
Most of the work involved in credit card operations is now handled by computers. Charges for the use of a credit card are sometimes paid directly by the cardholder, and sometimes borne by the retail establishments that accept them. In the latter case, the cost is absorbed into the price of the merchandise. Department stores usually charge interest to credit customers who do not settle their bills within a month, but certain credit plans do not charge interest until a bill has been outstanding for several months. Interest rates for overdue balances are regulated by state law. A continuing problem involved in the use of credit cards is the ease with which they can be used fraudulently if stolen or lost, although the liability of the owner is limited.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Top Ten Credit Cards in UK

Here are top ten credit cards in UK taht very familiar and used by many UK people:
1. EGG CARD (www.new.egg.com)
2. Virgin Credit Card (www.uk.virginmoney.com/)
3.Vanquis Card (www.vanquis.co.uk)
4. Barclaycard Platinum (www.barclaycard.co.uk)
5. MBNA Reward American Express (http://www.find.co.uk/creditcards/standard_credit_cards/mbna_platinum_plus)
6. MBNA Platinum Plus Credit Card
7. Arsenal FC Card (http://www.find.co.uk/creditcards/affinity_credit_cards/arsenal_fc_credit_card)
8. Nectar Credit Card (www.americanexpress.com)
9. RBS Credit Card (www.rbs.com)
10. HSBC Credit Card (www.hsbc.co.uk)

European Union

I INTRODUCTION

Map of the European Union
The European Union (EU) was formed in 1993 by the 12 nations of the European Community. By 2004, the EU had grown in size to 25 countries. The EU allows European citizens greater freedom to work, live, study, and travel in member states.
© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
European Union (EU), organization of European countries dedicated to increasing economic integration and strengthening cooperation among its members. The European Union headquarters is located in Brussels, Belgium. As of early 2006 there were 25 countries in the EU.

European Monetary System (EMS)

European Monetary System (EMS), system designed to increase financial cooperation and monetary stability within the European Union (EU). The EMS was created in 1979 in response to the fluctuation of European exchange rates that occurred in the wake of dramatic increases in oil prices in 1974. The primary purposes of the EMS were to stabilize exchange rates in the EU and to aid the long-term process of European monetary integration.
The central component of the EMS was the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), a voluntary system of fixed exchange rates. This system was based on the European Currency Unit (ECU, which became the euro in 1999), the unit of account of that the EU adopted at the creation of the EMS. Under the ERM, the currencies of participating countries were allowed to fluctuate in relation to one another and to the ECU, but only by small amounts. This amount was set at 2.25 percent for all countries except Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, which had 6 percent margins of fluctuation.
The ERM was an important part of the plan to achieve Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Under EMU, the economies of the EU states would be united and the EU would have a single currency administered by an EU central bank. EMU was the ultimate aim of the EMS and was a central part of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty that founded the EU.
The ERM was not without problems. First of all, not all EU members belonged to the ERM, and this limited its effectiveness. Greece never joined, and the United Kingdom did not join until 1990. In addition, by the early 1990s the system had become too rigid, and currencies were unable to fluctuate in relation to each other even in times of crisis. This came to a head in 1992 when currency traders began to have doubts about the value of some EU members’ currencies, leading to speculative attacks. The large-scale buying and selling of these currencies weakened the ERM severely, and the difficulty in maintaining the fixed exchange rates led the United Kingdom and Italy to withdraw from the ERM.
To prevent more countries from being forced out, in 1993 the ERM margin of fluctuation was widened for all currencies except the Dutch guilder and the German currency, the deutsche mark. This action left only The Netherlands and Germany within the 2.25 percent band. Since being within this band was one of the original conditions for participation in economic and monetary union and for adopting the single currency, many EU states were concerned that widening the fluctuation margins would seriously jeopardize the EMU. By April 1994 Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, and Luxembourg were back within the 2.25 percent band, but Spain and Portugal remained under pressure; in March 1995 they were forced to depreciate their currencies against the ECU. At the same time, the United Kingdom and Denmark, concerned about the potential problems of EMU, negotiated the right to opt out of monetary union.
On January 1, 1999, EMU went into effect. The euro replaced the ECU as a common currency on a one-to-one basis, but for only 11 states: Greece had failed to qualify, while the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden declined to join. (Greece later met the economic criteria and adopted the euro on January 1, 2001.) The EMS was effectively transformed into economic and monetary union, with a single currency controlled by a European central bank. However, the ERM was revised as a mechanism for regulating relations between the euro and the currencies of those EU countries not participating in EMU.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.