Visa created the credit-card network that began as BankAmericard in 1958.
Bank of America launched BankAmericard in California in 1958. The program expanded through licensed banks and was later renamed Visa in 1976, creating a globally recognizable payment-network brand.
Visa generally does not lend directly to cardholders in the way a card-issuing bank does. Instead, its network helps authorize, clear, and settle electronic payments between merchants, banks, and consumers. Banks issue Visa cards, while merchants accept transactions through payment systems.
This distinction explains why Visa is often confused with banks such as JPMorgan Chase. A bank may issue a Visa card, but Visa supplies the network and brand. Visa’s enormous scale comes from processing payments worldwide rather than from owning every cardholder relationship or merchant account.