National BankAmericard Inc., the BankAmericard licensing organization, launched VisaNet in 1973 and adopted the Visa name in 1976, according to Visa’s retrospective on founder Dee Hock. The company describes the technology launch as a milestone in digitizing card transactions at the point of sale.
Hock’s work on BankAmericard
Visa’s account places Hock’s efforts to reshape BankAmericard in 1969, when he gathered a group of bankers at a hotel in Sausalito, California. The company says the program was struggling with fraud and bad debts and that Hock was charged with redefining it.
The challenge extended to how payments would be processed. Visa says Hock learned that another payment network was developing a computerized authorization, clearing and settlement system. He then pushed his team to launch VisaNet in 1973.
The Visa name
The name change followed in 1976. According to Visa, Hock invited employees to propose a new name through an internal contest, which produced the Visa brand.
Visa identifies National BankAmericard Inc. as the name of the BankAmericard licensing organization before that change, linking the earlier card program to the organization that adopted the Visa identity.
