VISA-For everyone, everywhere

VISA is an American multinational financial service corporation that facilitates electronic fund transfer globally by their credit cards and debit cards.It was launched by the Bank of America in September 1958 as a part of the BankAmericard Program.The program was later renamed to Visa in 1976 and was set up as a different entity.Visa went public on March 18, 2008 with an initial stock price of 44$ per share.They raised around 18B $ which was the largest IPO offering in US History back then.

Visa currently trades at 194-198$ with a market cap of 430B $.Visa falls under the financial sector and majorly deals in providing payment systems.They do not provide credit directly but are the financial institution that provides credit cards and systems to the issuing banks.They charge the least amount of transaction fees and are widely accepted at almost all retailers.This makes them the largest credit card company in the world excluding China.

Visa is a growth stock with a high price forecast of 308$ and low estimate of 202$.The median estimate is 276$ which represents a 40% increase from the last trading price of 196$.This jump is almost unheard of in such an old company that has reached market saturation.The current consensus amongst analysts is to buy visa stock with more than 27 of the 36 surveyed indicating a increase in EPS from 5.91$ to 7.03$ which provides excessive funds to Visa for provision of dividends.

Visa is one of the most recognisable financial institution all around the world.It is the preferred mode of payment for merchants all around the world because of their almost zero transaction fees and transaction security.Due to their global presence, they also have a huge consumer base and gain a large portion of their revenue from international transaction fees.Besides this, they also issue cards to more than 90% of corporates which brings in a major chunk of their revenue.Visa also has many sponsorships, with one of the most famous being the olympics and Formula 1 sponsorship which will prove to be a major marketing and revenue stream in the Bejing Olympics. Visa although a household name in the digital card economy is becoming redundant with time.As most countries are transforming from cards to phone based payments systems,Visa is facing drop in transaction volumes which is the major source of their income.The worldwide acceptance of crypto currency which does not charge any transaction fees is another blow to Visa.With many brands starting to accept crypto as forms of payment, the good times of Visa seem to come to an end.Apart from this, Visa is losing its key asset which is security.Account details and financials have reportedly been leaked since 2015 over various occasions.They have also been in hot waters with the Reserve Bank Of India and have been stopped from onboarding new customers for the time being.Visa despite having its own sets of controversies and setbacks is still one of the leading finance corporations around the world and will continue to be so in the near future. Although from a 20 year horizon, it is likely that crypto currencies will become the new standard for transactions and credit cards as we know it will become obsolete.It must be noted that Visa also understands the potential in new age currencies and is working on developing their own currency to stay competitive in the finance scene.