Visa Inc. (stylized as VISA) is an American multinational payment card services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly through Visa-branded credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards.
History:
Visa was founded in 1958 by Bank of America (BofA) as the BankAmericard credit card program. In response to competitor Master Charge (now Mastercard), BofA began to license the BankAmericard program to other financial institutions. By 1970, BofA gave up direct control of the BankAmericard program, forming a cooperative with other issuer banks. It was then renamed Visa in 1976.
Global Network:
Nearly all Visa transactions worldwide are processed through the company’s directly operated VisaNet at secure data centers located in the United States, England, and Singapore. These facilities can handle up to 30,000 simultaneous transactions and up to 100 billion computations every second.
Services:
Visa does not issue cards, extend credit, or set rates and fees for consumers. Instead, it provides financial institutions with Visa-branded payment products that they use to offer credit, debit, prepaid, and cash access programs to their customers.
Market Dominance:
Visa is the world’s second-largest card payment organization (debit and credit cards combined), based on annual value of card payments transacted and the number of issued cards. It commands a 50% market share of total card payments outside of China.
Global Reach:
Visa’s global network, known as VisaNet, processed 100 billion transactions during 2014 with a total volume of US$6.8 trillion.
Visa plays a crucial role in enabling electronic payments and connecting individuals, businesses, and economies worldwide.
Milestones:
The history of Visa Inc. dates back to 1958, when Bank of America launched the first consumer credit card program in the U.S. under the name BankAmericard. Here are the key milestones in Visa’s journey:
- 1958: Bank of America introduces the BankAmericard credit card program in Fresno, California.
- 1966: In response to competitor Master Charge (now Mastercard), BofA begins licensing the BankAmericard progra
- m to other financial institutions.
- 1970: BofA relinquishes direct control of the BankAmericard program, forming a cooperative with other issuer banks to manage it.
- 1976: The program is renamed Visa.
- 1974: Visa expands internationally.
- 1975: Visa introduces the debit card.
- 2007: Regional businesses merge to form Visa Inc..
- : Visa goes public in one of the largest IPOs in history.
Today, Visa is a global leader in payment card services, facilitating electronic funds transfers through Visa-branded credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. It does not issue cards directly but provides financial institutions with Visa-branded payment products for their customers.