What was Visa called before it adopted the Visa name in 1976?

Visa was called BankAmericard before it adopted the Visa name in 1976.

BankAmericard began in 1958 as a credit-card program launched by Bank of America in California. It was among the earliest general-purpose revolving credit cards, allowing customers to carry balances rather than paying the full amount immediately.

The program expanded beyond California through licensing and became an international card network. In 1970, participating banks formed National BankAmericard Incorporated to manage the system independently of Bank of America. The name BankAmericard remained associated with the card in the United States for several more years.

The network changed its global brand to Visa in 1976. That rebranding created a name that was easier to use internationally and was not tied to a particular bank or country. Visa later became one of the world’s largest electronic-payment networks, though it does not itself issue most Visa cards; member financial institutions generally do.