Visa Inc. saw overseas spending on the firm’s cards unexpectedly accelerate in the first three months of the year, as the payments giant benefited from an increase in global travel. 

Cross-border volume jumped 24 per cent in the fiscal second quarter, topping the 20 per cent average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Overall volume on the firm’s cards rose 9 per cent to US$3.6 trillion, which was in line with what analysts estimated. 

“I have never been more excited about the opportunities in front of us,” Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney said in a statement announcing the results. “While there is macroeconomic uncertainty, I feel confident in Visa’s ability to manage through changing environments.”

Cross-border spending on Visa’s cards is a key metric for investors because such transactions are more lucrative than domestic payments. Visa has benefitted as consumers around the world, freed from pandemic-era lockdowns, travel more. 

Visa has said it has seen a pickup in activity in Asia, which was slower to reopen than the rest of the world. 

Overall revenue in the quarter ended March 31 climbed 11 per cent to US$8 billion. Net income for the period climbed 17 per cent to US$4.3 billion. Adjusting for the company’s withdrawal from Russia, earnings per share were US$2.09, topping the US$1.99 average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.