SAI440 Visa Case Study

 
Visa Inc. in the 1990s was a company that specialized in electronic funds transfers throughout the world through their Visa-branded credit cards. The company does not issue cards, extend credit, or set rates and fees for consumers; it only provides financial institutions with Visa-branded payment products that they then use. In early 2000, the company greatly expanded its offerings through the use of debit, prepaid, and cash-access programs to their customers. Within 10 years, Visa held 60% (Nilson report) of the debit card marketplace in the United States processe—over 20 billion transactions a year. This major expansion and branching of their product line has resulted in major issues for management.
The implementation of IT strategies was a major task. The wide variety of technical skills, including IT and banking expertise, along with systems integration with their alliances, and joint venture partners in the industry made a monumental task. The CIO developed policy, explored and evaluated technology, prepared the company for the appropriate technology, and successfully managed the expansion into debit, prepaid, and cash-access programs. This week, you should focus on the chief information officer’s efforts and the supply chain management issues, the role of chief information officer (CIO), and how his role interacted with development efforts within supply chain management (SCM). Focus on the CIO’s responsibilities for this effort in supply chain management, and in particular, the transfer of information and the sharing of information across the supply chain.

 Find out the questions “what” and “how” of Visa’s push towards debit and cash cards. Start with some basic research on the company and its market: Research into this company will require you to understand the basic differences between debit and credit transactions as well as how financial transactions are transmitted. Keep in mind that debit cards are connected to a personal bank account while a credit card is connected to the bank or financial institution that issued the card (not Visa). With this difference, how does a cash card work and why is it different than a debit card? 

 
Use the template to complete a 3–5 page report on your research.   Include the sections listed below as needed.

Introduction—a brief introduction into the company and its situation
Issue/Problems—identify all the issues or problems faced by the company for the expansion of services
Actions Taken—what was the company’s response on dealing with the issues?
Results—what were the results of the company’s efforts? Did they work? Why or why not?
References—list all research references used