Visa transaction volumes hurt as coronavirus crisis deepens

(Reuters) - Visa Inc <V.N> said on Monday its transaction volumes had been hit as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on consumer spending, leading it to forecast mid-single-digit percentage revenue growth for the second quarter.

"As countries have imposed social distancing, shelter-in-place or total lock-down orders, domestic spending, most notably in travel, restaurants, entertainment and fuel, has sharply declined week on week," the world's largest payments network said in a statement.

The company said transaction volumes fell in the second half of March and there has been a rapid deterioration in cross-border travel-related spending.

The coronavirus has upended the retail industry as shoppers stay at home to avoid catching the highly contagious illness and stores remain shut.

Mastercard Inc <MA.N>, American Express <AXP.N>, and PayPal Holdings Inc <PYPL.O> have also warned of slowing revenue growth due to the outbreak.

Visa, which reported a 4% fall in March to date in U.S. payments volume from a year earlier, said it expects operating expense growth in high single digits and earnings per share growth in the high end of low single digits.

Analysts expect revenue of $5.83 billion and earnings per share of $1.36 in the second quarter ended March 31, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Earlier this month, Visa had already warned that its second-quarter revenue growth would be slower than its previous forecast.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)