Visa credit and debit cards

Visa Inc. is a global leader in digital payments, facilitating commerce across more than 200 countries and territories. Originally launched in 1958 by Bank of America as the BankAmericard credit card program, the brand evolved into an international consortium before becoming the publicly traded global corporation it is today.

While Visa provides the technology and infrastructure for transactions, the physical cards are typically manufactured by specialized security printing companies located in various countries. Visa does not issue cards directly; rather, they are issued by partner financial institutions that use Visa's proprietary network to process electronic funds transfers. Ownership is held by public shareholders following the company's record-breaking IPO in 2008.