What do I need to know about Visa credit cards?

Firstly, it's important to understand that essentially, there is no difference between Visa and Mastercard. They are both credit card businesses providing payment solutions. They do however have different histories and have different claims to fame.

Visa is owned jointly by 21,000 financial institutions globally. It is a private organisation, run for profit. There are over 1 billion Visa cards, which can be accepted at nearly 24 million locations in over 130 countries. According to Visa, there will be goods and services worth over $2 trillion purchased using Visa products in 2002.

Its history can be traced back to 1958, when it initially appeared as a BankAmericard launched by Bank of America in the now famous blue white and gold colour scheme. The founder of the Bank of America at the beginning of the last century was a man named A.P. Giannini. Today, the Visa corporation talk of Mr Giannini as believing at the time that ordinary people could take control of their lives if they had access to flexible personal Credit. He believed that the Credit card would actually drive social change.

During the 1960s and 70s, the BankAmerica cards became nationally popular. The licensee member organizations decided to create a new corporate entity to support the cards. Hence, the name "Visa" came into being 1976, and this name spread over the world.

Around this time, the leader of Visa was a man named Dee Hock, who oversaw the creation of the first-ever system for handling Credit card transactions electronically. This was the piece of transaction processing infrastructure that allowed the Credit card to grow and expand rapidly

Visa Credits itself with creating the first premium Credit card, and the first global ATM network, along with new smart and prepaid cards. Recently, they have launched the concept of universal commerce ("u-commerce"), with the aim being that anyone can conduct commerce securely and conveniently anywhere, anyway and anytime they like.

The company itself is divided into six regional operating organizations, and Malcolm Williamson is the President and CEO of the global management team.

The company is truly international and is accepted in most parts of the world including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the UK.

What do I need to know about Visa credit cards?

© The Pink Fridge Online Magazine 2008 - Visa