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Date Published : Monday, March 10, 2008
As major players in the credit card market come, they rarely get any bigger than Visa. Together with its rival MasterCard, Visa has dominated the credit card sector for decades and, through major tie-ups with leading banks, nearly everyone in Australia now has one of its products.
Thought up by workers at Bank of America in California in order to become more efficient, the credit cards were initially known as a BankAmericard in 1958, before adopting the Visa name - and distinctive blue, white and gold logo - in 1977.
At the forefront of technology since its early days, Visa co-worked on development of the industry-wide chip regulations, which now feature in every card issued by Visa, through banks and financial institutions.
In Australia, the company came to the fore during the early 1990s, after a succession of agreements to introduce credit cards with the National Australia Bank and ANZ. It now has dealings with all of the major banks in Australia, including Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and St George.
Through its dealings with banks, Visa offers a wide range of products, from the simple credit card to the frequent flyer credit card and the Visa Gold card.
A statement on its website reads: "With Visa Gold, you'll enjoy a high spending line typically over $5,000, a revolving line of credit, emergency card replacement and cash disbursement services when you are traveling.
"Visa Gold cardholders will also receive medical and legal referral and assistance, plus toll-free access to the Visa Emergency Assistance Center 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."
From its humble beginnings, Visa is now a household name and a brand which appears in just about every wallet in the nation.
Compare credit card offers.
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