Visa is the payment network whose blue, gold, and orange logo appears on cards accepted in more than 200 countries and territories. Visa Inc. operates electronic payment infrastructure rather than being a conventional deposit-taking bank.
Visa began as Bank of America’s BankAmericard program, launched in California in 1958. The card system expanded internationally, and the global brand was renamed Visa in 1976. The name was chosen for its easy pronunciation across languages.
Visa generally does not issue cards directly to consumers or set each cardholder’s account terms. Banks and other financial institutions issue Visa-branded cards, while Visa provides the network that authorizes, clears, and settles transactions.
The company became publicly traded in 2008 after an initial public offering that ranked among the largest in U.S. history. Its huge transaction volume and asset-light network model have supported its position among the world’s largest companies by market value.