Visa was founded in 1958 as BankAmericard.
Bank of America launched BankAmericard in California in 1958 as one of the first general-purpose consumer credit cards. The program expanded beyond the bank’s home market through licensing arrangements with other financial institutions. In 1976, the international network adopted the name Visa.
Visa generally does not lend money directly to cardholders in the way a bank does. Instead, it operates a payment network that helps authorize, clear, and settle transactions between cardholders, merchants, and financial institutions. Banks issue Visa-branded cards, while merchants accept them through acquiring institutions.
This distinction matters when comparing Visa with companies such as American Express, which historically combined network and card-issuing functions more directly. Visa’s large transaction volume and asset-light network model have made it one of the world’s most valuable public companies.