Under terms of the deal, Wachovia will continue to offer Visa-branded credit and debit products to its customers as a major component of its consumer and small business payments business.

As part of the agreement, Wachovia will issue the Visa check card for consumer and small business customers and will issue the majority of the bank's consumer credit and small business credit products with the Visa brand. In addition, Visa will continue to offer debit processing to Wachovia through Visa Debit Processing Service.

"Wachovia has built its success on providing customers across the U.S. with products and services that are tailored to their individual needs," said Steve Boehm, president of Wachovia Card Services. "Visa's product and processing capabilities deliver a compelling mix of value, convenience and security that meets our business goals, and are compatible with our customer service objectives."

"Visa is pleased to renew our partnership with Wachovia to provide their consumer and business customers with the full range of Visa credit and debit products," said Joe Saunders, CEO and Chairman, Visa Inc. "We are looking forward to continuing our close collaboration with Wachovia to offer Visa payment solutions and processing services to further the migration to electronic payments from cash and checks."