VISA U.S.A. announced yesterday it will extend its sponsorship of the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team through the 1999 season. Under terms of the original agreement, signed in January, VISA receives brand exclusivity worldwide, as well as branding on team apparel and on all team support vehicles. VISA and the Postal Service said yesterday they will jointly celebrate the sponsorship extension and the cycling team's inclusion in the 1998 'Tour de France' with a special cardholder promotion at 765 USPS retail postal stores nationwide. Through the end of July, consumers who use their VISA cards for a purchase of $15 or more at the postal stores will receive a free water sports bottle. VISA said yesterday it logged 35.7 million postal transactions representing more than $1.2 billion in purchases for the twelve-month period ending May 31.

Visa U.S.A. has announced that it will extend its sponsorship of the United States Postal Service (USPS) Pro Cycling Team, which began in January 1998. Under the new agreement, Visa will provide support for all of the team’s U.S. races through the end of the 1999 season.

Under terms of the contract, Visa will receive brand exclusivity worldwide, as well as branding on team apparel and on all team support vehicles.

Visa will also pursue promotional opportunities with several other sponsors of the team, including Trek, the official bicycle manufacturer, Pearl Izumi, the official clothing manufacturer, and Rudy Project North America, the official eyewear manufacturer.

Visa and the Postal Service are celebrating this sponsorship extension and the cycling team’s inclusion in the 1998 Tour de France with a cardholder promotion at the 765 USPS retail postal stores nationwide. From July 1 through July 31, 1998, consumers who use their Visa cards for a purchase of $15 or more at the stores will receive a free sports water bottle depicting a commemorative Lady Liberty stamp image and the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team members’ signatures.

The cycling team sponsorship continues Visa’s relationship with the Postal Service, which began accepting credit and debit cards in 1995 and now accepts them at more than 32,000 post offices nationwide. For the twelve month period ending May 31, 1998, consumers used bank cards for more than 35.7 million postal transactions, which translated into more than $1.2 billion in purchases.

By accepting payment cards, the Postal Service has not only enhanced customer convenience, but also reaped considerable financial savings, due to the fact that the cost of processing payment card transactions is approximately half that of processing cash and checks.

Sponsoring the cycling team furthers our efforts to promote Visa card acceptance at Postal Service locations, said Armen Khachadourian, senior vice president, new and emerging markets, at Visa U.S.A. Our continuation of this partnership reflects Visa’s commitment to our relationship with the Postal Service, the nation’s largest retailer. We look forward to supporting the United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team in every way we can.

It is always the goal of any team to align itself with a sponsor that exhibits the same high qualities the team itself is looking for, said Mark Gorski, general manager, United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. The USPS Pro Cycling Team is extremely proud to have the support of a company like Visa USA well-known as a world-class company and our team is proud to wear the Visa logo.

The USPS team is fast moving up the ranks in world cycling, with team members placing in the top four positions in their last six races. The team scored a major victory on June 7, when team member George Hincapie captured first place at the First Union U.S. Pro Championship, the nation’s largest cycling race. Hincapie’s win entitles him to represent the United States by wearing the coveted Stars and Stripes jersey in the Tour de France in July. Currently ranked 19th in the Union Cycliste Internationale team rankings, the USPS team won more than 30 races in 1997. All nine of the team’s riders completed the 1997 Tour de France a feat accomplished by just three of the 22 teams to start the race.

Visa is the leading card brand and the largest consumer payment system worldwide. It plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions, their cardholders, and the global economy. Visa is the only consumer payment system to facilitate $1 trillion worth of purchases of goods and services in a fiscal year. Visa's nearly 600 million cards are accepted at more than 15 million worldwide locations, including more than 400,000 ATMs in the Visa/PLUS Global ATM Network. Visa's Internet address is http://www.visa.com.