Visa

San Francisco-based, NYSE-listed payments network that traces its origins to BankAmericard in 1958. It reported net revenue of $40.0 billion for fiscal 2025 and runs its Middle East and Africa business from Dubai.

Industry: Card payments network | Location: San Francisco, United States | Founded: 1958

About Visa

Visa Inc. operates one of the world's largest electronic payments networks, connecting consumers, merchants, banks and governments in more than 200 countries and territories. The company does not issue cards or lend money itself; it provides the network and technology through which card-issuing banks and merchant acquirers process transactions, and earns revenue mainly from fees tied to payments volume and transactions. Visa traces its history to BankAmericard, launched by Bank of America in Fresno, California on 18 September 1958. In 1970 control passed to the participating banks, and Dee Hock became president and chief executive of the new National BankAmericard organisation. It was renamed Visa in 1976. Hock stepped down from management in 1984. Visa is headquartered in San Francisco, and Ryan McInerney is chief executive. For its fiscal year 2025, Visa's annual report showed net revenue up 11 percent to about USD 40 billion, with GAAP earnings per share of USD 10.20 and non-GAAP earnings per share of USD 11.47. The shareholder letter cited total payments and cash volume of USD 17 trillion and nearly five billion payment credentials, up six percent from the prior year. The company said it employs more than 34,000 people. Its products include credit and debit processing, the Visa Direct money-movement service, and a growing set of tools for digital identity, tokenisation and AI-enabled commerce; on a 2025 earnings call the company described work on artificial intelligence and stablecoins. In the Gulf, Visa has been active as a founding partner of the Money20/20 Middle East conference in Saudi Arabia, and returned in that role for the 2026 edition, focusing on AI-enabled commerce, digital identity and cross-border money movement. It has announced a multi-year partnership with Al Rajhi Bank to extend Visa Direct to the bank's Saudi customers, enabling transfers to bank accounts in more than 30 countries. Zawya reported that consumer fintech Sav signed an exclusive five-year strategic partnership with Visa as its card network across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and Xpence also announced a partnership with Visa following its Saudi launch. A Visa regional executive has said cashless transactions in the Kingdom have reached 79 percent against a Vision 2030 target of 80 percent.

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