Visa

(NYSE: V · $389.27 ▲ 1.0%) Visa is a digital payments company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker V, that facilitates transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities. The company presents itself as a network working for everyone, and it describes its purpose as uplifting everyone, everywhere. Card networks of this kind typically do not lend money or issue cards themselves. Instead they connect card-issuing banks with the acquirers that serve merchants, and they earn fees as payments move across the network.

For consumers, the company promotes contactless tap-to-pay, a range of cards and associated benefits, and use of Visa when travelling. It also promotes ways to fast-track fintech firms, encourages people to find and support local businesses, and runs a global support center offering help wherever users are. Together, these offerings point to the two-sided nature of a card network, which must win acceptance among merchants and partners while also encouraging cardholders to use its products.

That activity spans more than 200 countries and territories. Running a payment network at that scale means working across many currencies, many local banking systems and many national regulations. The company's stated commitments include addressing economic inequality by empowering people who have traditionally been excluded from the financial system, supporting underserved communities and local economies, and driving sustainable commerce. Much of this reflects a wider focus in the payments industry on financial inclusion, since every newly banked consumer or small merchant also expands the reach of digital payments.