Visa operates the Visa payment network and uses the ticker V.
Visa’s history began with Bank of America’s BankAmericard program, launched in California in 1958. The card program expanded internationally and was renamed Visa in 1976. Visa Inc. became a separate publicly traded company in 2008 after the Visa organization reorganized its regional associations.
Visa generally does not issue cards directly to consumers or provide most of the loans behind them. Banks and other financial institutions issue Visa-branded cards, while Visa provides the network that authorizes, clears, and settles electronic payments. This distinction separates Visa from many card-issuing banks.
Visa is also different from Mastercard, which operates a competing global payment network. American Express commonly acts as both a network and a card issuer. Visa Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under V.