A report by Visa USA released Saturday showed that spending by consumers and businesses on Visa-branded payment cards on Black Friday totaled more than $4.1 billion, a 15.5% increase over the same period in 2003.

According to Visa's Holiday SpendTrak report, the increase in sales volume for Friday was largely driven by discount, mass apparel and drugstores (15.7% growth), home and garden (15.6% growth), department and apparel (15.7% growth), travel and entertainment (12.9% growth) and e-commerce (28.1% growth).

"Visa is seeing continued growth across a range of retail categories, from discount stores to more discretionary categories like travel and entertainment," said Wayne Best, senior vice president for strategic economic analysis for Visa USA. "This pattern signals consumers are generally comfortable with their financial situation, which bodes well for merchants who have been hoping for a good holiday season.''