Bank of America founded the card program that became Visa in 1958.
Bank of America launched the BankAmericard program in Fresno, California, in September 1958. It was one of the first general-purpose credit cards, allowing customers to carry balances rather than paying the full amount immediately. The program later expanded through licensing to banks outside California.
In 1976, BankAmericard was renamed Visa, creating a more internationally usable brand. Visa Inc. eventually became a separate publicly traded payments company and, because of its global transaction network, grew into one of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.
Visa does not generally lend money directly to cardholders in the way a bank does. It operates the payment network, while issuing banks provide cards and often set credit terms.