Visa
The company is a financial services giant that enables payments to be made electronically through debit and credit cards
Visa is a financial services giant that enables payments to be made electronically through debit and credit cards. Instead of offering these cards directly, the company enables banks and businesses to provide Visa-branded plastic to their customers. From here, Visa processes transactions and cash withdrawals at ATMs through data centers based in the US, Europe and Asia in exchange for a small fee.
Although the Visa company dominates the card payment market, it was overtaken in 2015 by China’s UnionPay. The business has seen revenues steadily rise in recent years as consumers turn away from using cash, with contactless payments becoming a more popular alternative.
In terms of Visa share price history, its IPO was one of the biggest and most hotly anticipated flotations ever seen on the New York Stock Exchange. Back in 2008, it managed to raise $17.9 billion at $44 a share – considerably more than what was forecast. Visa’s share price has more than quadrupled since.
Visa in numbers
3.3 billion
Visa cards in circulation
46 million
Merchants who accept Visa
160
Currencies are accepted
$11 trillion
Total sales volume in 2018
124.3 billion
Total number of processed transactions
25%
Of face-to-face Visa card payments are contactless
65,000
Transactions per second can be handled by its network
Visa's core products
Credit cards
Although Visa doesn’t extend credit, it authorizes payments and prevents fraud
Debit cards
This enables businesses and consumers to spend money in their checking accounts
Prepaid cards
Users can top up these cards and use them instead of cash
Business solutions
Visa offers payment services to governments, small businesses and corporations
Global ATM
As well as cards, Visa runs a global network of ATMs that spans 200 countries
