Visa created the VisaNet payment network used to authorize card transactions worldwide.
VisaNet is Visa’s global processing network. It connects merchants, banks, and cardholders, helping authorize transactions and settle payments. Visa generally does not issue cards directly to consumers; banks and other financial institutions issue Visa-branded cards, while Visa supplies the network and payment technology.
The modern company developed from Bank of America’s BankAmericard program, launched in 1958. BankAmericard was later expanded internationally and renamed Visa in 1976. Visa Inc. became a separately listed public company in 2008 through one of the largest initial public offerings in United States history at that time.
Visa is often confused with a bank because its cards are common in bank branches and wallets. However, Visa is principally a payments network rather than a conventional deposit-taking bank. Its business model is linked to transaction volume, not primarily to lending money to cardholders.