It might be more accurate for the headline to read "This is how Brazil works." In the US we tend to take for granted how much a functioning regulatory system, far from retarding healthy growth, is essential for promoting it.
This is how Visa works
61–70 of 106 posts
Re: This is how Visa works
#62He needs to talk to a lawyer.
Re: This is how Visa works
#63I just wanted to give Eduardo a shout-out to build a company that provides a tangible benefit for low-income families. I know that in the US it's hard for this segment of the population to get into the electronics payment system, and I imagine that in Brazil it's similar. It's great to see that the system is free for the end-user. In the US, most companies that target this market are predatory and charge exorbitant fees[1], like the now defunct Kardashian Kard[2]
Somehow I'm not surprised that Visa/Cielo is playing dirty to get their market share back. I hope you find a way to fight back.
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/business/chasing-fees-bank... [2] http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/30/us-kardashian-debi...
Re: This is how Visa works
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let's say you were a US-based multinational that wanted to expand your market share overseas, at any means necessary, even if it means using tactics that would be frowned upon or illegal in the US. Isn't the "this was an unauthorized move by a subcontractor" the exact defense you would plan to use then when the dirty tactics were exposed?
Unfortunately, it works.
Re: This is how Visa works
#65Don't know if this will help but perhaps you can get the story in the newspaper?
If not perhaps you could buy some advertising stating that the company's "death" has been highly exaggerated, why your product is better, and because people love it so much, even dirty tricks can't kill it.
Avoid negativity and bitterness, keep the message focused (less is more), and it might help rally the public to your side.
Re: This is how Visa works
#66Re: This is how Visa works
#67Re: This is how Visa works
#68Plenty of multinationals play "dirty" in Latin America, I've heard similar stories about several other companies here from people that work for smaller, local competitors. That said, I highly doubt that it's a policy of the home office, it's really just the end result of hiring people who get results in the region, in a situation where oversight is difficult to impossible.
How many months ago was it that Wal-Mart got caught up in a similar scandal in Mexico?
Vast Mexico Bribery Case Hushed Up by Wal-Mart After Top-Level Struggle
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/business/at-wal-mart-in-me... (paywalls, etc.)
By DAVID BARSTOW Published: April 21, 2012
> MEXICO CITY — In September 2005, a senior Wal-Mart lawyer received
> an alarming e-mail from a former executive at the company’s largest
> foreign subsidiary, Wal-Mart de Mexico. In the e-mail and follow-up
> conversations, the former executive described how Wal-Mart de Mexico
> had orchestrated a campaign of bribery to win market dominance.Re: This is how Visa works
#69I don't speak Portuguese, but is this the contact info for visa in the region? [1]. Maybe a few letters to some choice managers there could get Visa to act a little more responsible. if not, I'd push as high as you can get in the organization to petition. There is a corporate visa page [2], there may be something useful in there. [edit] CEO is Joseph Sanders. There may be a PO box listed for him [3] at Joseph W. Saun…
sorry to reply to my own post, You may want to try another number as well, 415-932-2100 from [1]. It is from 2008, but maybe someones there with some authority.
also, it was filed last year [2], but another corporate address is listed as
JOSEPH SAUNDERS
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
595 MARKET STREET
SAN FRANCISCO,CA 94105
[2]http://starpas.azcc.gov/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsbroker1...
Re: This is how Visa works
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately, it works.
not anymore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Corrupt_Practices_Act
Also, NoPiece pointed out in this discussion that the FCPA probably applies only to goverment officials: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4397414
(Is this what you were referencing in saying 'go down and then back up'? not sure what you were getting at there, sorry...)