Visa is the payments network founded in 1958 as BankAmericard and later ranked among the world’s highest-market-cap companies.
Bank of America launched BankAmericard in 1958 in Fresno, California. The program was an early general-purpose credit card and eventually expanded beyond Bank of America. In 1976, the international network adopted the name Visa, creating a brand intended to work across languages and national borders.
Visa generally does not issue cards directly to consumers or lend money for most card transactions. Banks and other financial institutions issue Visa-branded cards, while Visa operates the network that authorizes, clears, and settles payments.
This business model distinguishes Visa from issuers such as American Express and from banks that provide credit. Mastercard is a direct payments-network competitor, but it is a separate company and did not originate as BankAmericard.