Visa Inc.

Bank of America launched the BankAmericard credit card in Fresno, California, marking a significant moment in Visa's history.

By May 1961, the BankAmericard program became profitable for the first time, marking a significant milestone in its financial success.

In 1968, Dee Hock, a significant figure in Visa's history, oversaw the rollout of the BankAmericard in the Pacific Northwest while serving as the National Bank of Commerce manager.

In 1973, National BankAmericard launched the precursor to VisaNet, introducing the first electronic authorization system and later the electronic clearing and settlement system.

The first debit card was introduced at the First National Bank of Seattle, which significantly contributed to Visa's revenues in the following decades.

In 1976, BankAmericard, Barclaycard, Carte Bleue, Chargex, Sumitomo Card, and other licensees merged under the new name 'Visa'. The term was chosen for its universal recognition and acceptance.

On March 1, 1977, VISA cards started replacing expiring BankAmericard cards, initially featuring both names. The process aimed to phase out Bank of America issued cards globally by October 1979.

The first Visa Premiere card was released in 1981 under the direction of Hock, marking a period of rapid growth for Visa.

In 1983, the Visa Classic Card was redesigned with a hologram to further reduce fraud, a significant step in enhancing card security.

In 1984, Visa cards worldwide started featuring a hologram of a dove as a security measure, with the image changing as the card was turned. This was implemented to enhance security and allow customization of card appearance by issuing banks.

Since 1986, Visa has been a worldwide sponsor of the Olympic Games, ensuring that only Visa cards are accepted at all Olympic venues. The sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee will continue through 2032, covering various Olympic Games.

In 1993, Visa introduced the Plus System, enhancing its global payment network and services for member banks and consumers.

In 1996, a class of U.S. merchants, including Walmart, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard over their 'Honor All Cards' policy, which required merchants to accept their debit cards along with credit cards. The lawsuit was settled in 2003 for $3.05 billion, with Visa's share being larger.

In 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Visa over rules that prevented its issuing banks from working with American Express and Discover. The Department of Justice won the case in 2001, leading to a settlement between Visa and the U.S. Justice Department in 2010.

Visa became the first global sponsor of the International Paralympic Committee in 2002, extending its partnership through 2020. This sponsorship includes various Paralympic Games and ensures that only Visa cards are accepted at Paralympic venues.

On October 11, 2005, Visa announced its decision to merge some of its business entities and transform into a public company known as Visa, Inc. This move involved the consolidation of Visa Canada, Visa International, and Visa USA into the newly formed company.

On October 11, 2006, Visa announced the merger of its businesses, including Visa Canada, Visa International, and Visa USA, to form a publicly traded company known as Visa Inc.

Visa completed its corporate restructuring on October 3, 2007, establishing Visa Inc. as a new company, a crucial step towards its IPO.

On November 9, 2007, Visa Inc. submitted a $10 billion IPO filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, paving the way for its initial public offering.

On March 18, 2008, Visa went public with its initial public offering (IPO) of 406 million shares priced at $44 per share, raising $17.9 billion. This IPO marked the largest in U.S. history at that time, solidifying Visa's position in the financial market.

On March 26, 2008, the European Commission launched an investigation into Visa's multilateral interchange fees for cross-border transactions within the EEA. The investigation also looked into Visa's 'Honor All Cards' rule, which required merchants to accept all Visa-branded cards.

Visa Europe suspended payments to WikiLeaks on December 7, 2010, pending an investigation into the nature of its business and compliance with Visa operating rules.

In November 2012, a federal judge granted preliminary approval to a proposed settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by merchants and trade associations against Mastercard and Visa for alleged price-fixing practices related to interchange fees. The settlement amount reached was US$6.24 billion.

In 2013, Visa launched Visa Checkout, an online payment system that enables users to make purchases from online retailers without sharing card details.

In September 2014, Visa partnered with Apple to introduce a new mobile wallet feature for Apple's iPhone models, allowing users to easily utilize their Visa and other credit/debit cards.

In 2015, Visa's global network, VisaNet, processed 100 billion transactions with a total volume of US$6.8 trillion. This highlighted Visa's extensive reach and influence in the electronic funds transfer industry.

Visa Inc. completed the acquisition of Visa Europe on June 21, 2016, uniting the two entities into a single global company after Visa Europe gained independence in 2007.

In January 2017, Walmart Canada and Visa reached a deal to continue accepting Visa cards, resolving the previous threat of discontinuing their usage.

On January 12, 2018, Visa announced that the signature requirement would become optional for all EMV chip-enabled merchants in North America from April 2018. This decision was made as advancements in fraud capabilities rendered signatures unnecessary for combating fraud, leading to a faster in-store purchase experience.

In April 2019, Kroger's Smith's chain ceased accepting Visa credit cards due to high swipe fees, following a similar decision made by Kroger's California-based Foods Co stores in August 2018.

As of October 31, 2019, Kroger has settled its dispute with Visa over credit card fees and has resumed accepting Visa cards as a payment method.

Visa announced plans in November 2019 to move its headquarters back to San Francisco by 2024, alongside redesigning its Foster City complex to accommodate its product and technology teams.

On November 7, 2019, a court is set to approve or deny the settlement agreement reached in the class-action lawsuit against Mastercard and Visa for alleged price-fixing practices.

On January 13, 2020, Plaid announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion. The deal was double the company's most recent Series C round valuation of $2.65 billion. Visa would pay $4.9 billion in cash and approximately $400 million of retention equity and deferred equity.

On November 5, 2020, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit seeking to block Visa's acquisition of Plaid, arguing that Visa is a monopolist trying to eliminate a competitive threat. Visa stated that it disagrees with the lawsuit and intends to defend the transaction vigorously.

On February 3, 2021, Visa announced a partnership with First Boulevard, a neobank promoting cryptocurrency to build generational wealth for Black Americans. The partnership allows users to buy, sell, hold, and trade digital assets through Anchorage Digital.

The United States Justice Department announced an investigation into Visa to determine if the company is involved in anticompetitive practices in the debit card market, particularly focusing on limiting merchants' ability to route transactions over cheaper card networks.

On March 29, 2021, Visa announced the acceptance of stable coin USDC to settle transactions on its network.

Visa is the world's second-largest payment organization, processing over 1,700 transactions per second and having the largest global reach among payment organizations.

Visa is committed to driving sustainable commerce to create a more sustainable future.

Visa is supporting local economies and empowering underserved communities.