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What is Visa's AI strategy?
what McInerney and Taneja have said, what Visa spent and shipped, and what its 10-K discloses.

Last updated Oct 22, 2026 · 24 sources cited

What is Visa's AI strategy?

Visa treats AI as both its oldest risk technology and, in CEO Ryan McInerney's words on the July 28, 2026 call, the force "transforming the front end" of commerce while stablecoins reshape the back end. On the April 28, 2026 call McInerney said AI and agentic commerce would expand Visa's addressable market in four ways, citing third-party estimates of 80 to 150 basis points of extra GDP growth. Rajat Taneja, president of technology, told Fortune in October 2025 that Visa spent $3.5 billion building its AI platform and about $12 billion on technology over five years, and that every employee had access to a generative AI model by February 2023. Visa works with models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, IBM, Meta and Mistral AI, Fortune reported in February 2025; in April 2026 Taneja said employees used 1.9 trillion AI tokens a month and 89% were active AI users. In October 2025 CFO Chris Suh said every leader has AI targets to drive efficiencies. In July 2026 Visa said it had more than 150 AI-powered applications and was reorganising product teams into "agentic squads" of two to four people, the same day it announced about 2,600 job cuts in which AI was a factor. Its products run from Visa Advanced Authorization to Visa Intelligent Commerce (April 2025) and a Large Transaction Model (June 2026). The FY2025 10-K says agentic commerce "presents novel and complex regulatory, privacy and cybersecurity risks". Visa does not disclose AI revenue or an AI headcount.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Data as of Oct 22, 2026 · Visa profile updated Oct 22, 2026 · 24 sources cited on this page · 52 fintechs profiled on this site · Markdown

What leaders have said

What have Visa's CEO and technology chief said about AI, and when?

In date order. Earnings-call lines come from published transcripts (The Motley Fool, Investing.com); interview lines are as reported by the outlet named.

Statement or moveWhoWhenSource
Visa spent a few years and $3.5 billion rebuilding its data platform; it works with models from OpenAI, Anthropic's Claude, Google, IBM, Meta and Mistral AI, and nearly all staff have a secure internal version of ChatGPTRajat Taneja, president of technologyFebruary 5, 2025Fortune[4]
"We're making a very deliberate effort to focus on open banking in the markets that have the greatest potential, such as Europe and Latin America"Ryan McInerney, CEOJuly 29, 2025Q3 2025 earnings call[11]
Visa spent $3.5 billion building its AI platform and around $12 billion on technology over five years; every employee had model access by February 2023; Visa joined Microsoft's early Copilot pilotRajat Taneja, president of technologyOctober 7, 2025Fortune[3]
Over half of the new code base for the next generation of VisaNet was built with the assistance of generative AIRyan McInerney, CEOOctober 28, 2025Q4 2025 earnings call[6]
"Every leader at the company has AI targets to drive efficiencies that we intend to invest back in the business"Chris Suh, CFOOctober 28, 2025Q4 2025 earnings call[6]
Employees used 1.9 trillion AI tokens a month as of March, double February; 89% are active AI users and 44% power users; Claude is the most popular chatbot internally, often swapping places with ChatGPTRajat Taneja, president of technologyApril 10, 2026Business Insider[5]
AI and agentic commerce "will expand our addressable market" in four ways: digitising commerce, agents paying for resources in micro transactions, digitising B2B payments, and 80 to 150 basis points of extra GDP growth per third-party estimatesRyan McInerney, CEOApril 28, 2026Q2 2026 earnings call[2]
"If stablecoins are reshaping the back end of commerce, we see AI as transforming the front end"; more than 150 AI-powered applications; product teams of 10 or more reformed into "agentic squads" of two to fourRyan McInerney, CEOJuly 28, 2026Q3 2026 earnings call[1][12]
About 2,600 positions, roughly 7% of the workforce, to be cut, mostly in technology and product; a person with direct knowledge told CNBC AI was a significant factor but not the sole driverVisaJuly 28, 2026CNBC[7]
Teams on the agentic tool chain saw "80% more code commits" and requirement definition cut from 30 days to five, translating to "65% plus faster feature development"Ryan McInerney, CEOJuly 28, 2026Q3 2026 earnings call[1]
AI products in launch order

Which AI products has Visa shipped, and in what order?

A selection of named AI products and AI-related acquisitions; fraud models are covered in depth on Visa's fraud and risk AI page.

ProductWhat it doesBuilt onSince
Visa Advanced AuthorizationMachine-learning fraud scoring of Visa card paymentsNeural networks Visa first deployed for risk in 19931993 onward[13][10]
FeaturespaceReal-time behavioral analytics and AI payments protection, folded into Visa's risk unitAcquisition, $946 million purchase considerationDecember 19, 2024[14][10]
Employee AI assistant and GenAI HubInternal assistant using agentic AI for self-service; nearly 26,000 employees launched over 261,000 AI-powered chats from March 2025 to September 30, 2025Visa's internal GenAI Hub of models and toolsMarch 2025[10]
Visa Intelligent CommerceOpens Visa's network to developers of AI agents that browse, select and buy for consumersTokens and APIs; Anthropic, IBM, Microsoft, Mistral AI, OpenAI, Perplexity, Stripe and Samsung named as collaboratorsApril 30, 2025[8]
MCP serverGives AI systems access to Visa Intelligent Commerce APIsModel Context ProtocolSeptember 2025[15][6]
Trusted Agent ProtocolOpen framework for agents to pass signed intent and payment data so merchants can tell trusted agents from botsDeveloped with CloudflareOctober 14, 2025[16]
Large Transaction ModelFraud model trained on billions of transactions, announced with an OpenAI partnership and an Agentic DirectoryVisa transaction dataJune 10, 2026[9][17]
Visa Vulnerability Agentic HarnessOpen-sourced harness directing AI models through vulnerability discovery, verification and remediationTested with Anthropic's Claude Mythos under Project GlasswingJune 10, 2026[18]
BioCatch (agreed)Behavioral, device and network AI to detect account takeover, scams and mule accountsAcquisition agreed for $2.4 billionAugust 3, 2026[19]
Organisation, filings and the gaps

How is AI governed inside Visa, what does the 10-K say, and what is not disclosed?

Technology and AI sit under Rajat Taneja, president of technology, who told Fortune the approach treats "the sciences of models" and "the art, which is the policy and the governance" as equally important. He described codifying data-use principles into observability systems and an "AI observatory" dashboard that watches models in production for misuse and drift.[3]

Taneja said in February 2025 that he picks models on transparency, fairness efforts, the ability to fine-tune and hallucination rates, and that Visa matches models to software development, risk modelling and agentic workflows. In April 2026 he said Visa rewards employees for AI use, with software engineering the heaviest user.[4][5]

The FY2025 10-K says Visa is investing in "generative AI (GenAI), stablecoins and agentic commerce", that its Smarter Stand-In Processing uses AI to authorise transactions for issuers during outages, and that its risk products are "underpinned by real-time AI-driven scores".[10]

The 10-K risk factors say there is no single global regulatory framework for AI, list risks from training data, intellectual property, personal data and safe deployment, and warn that as agentic commerce scales Visa "may see increased instances of erroneous or disputed payments, increased chargebacks and reputational harm".[10]

What is not disclosed: an annual AI budget (the $3.5 billion platform figure covers several years), AI headcount, revenue from AI-embedded services, how many of the July 2026 job cuts were attributed to AI, and which of the more than 150 AI applications are customer-facing.[3][1][7]

From the profile

What does the Visa profile record on this topic?

The rows below are the entries of the Visa AI strategy profile that bear on this page, as of Oct 22, 2026; the profile holds the full record of 17 dated moves, 11 use cases and 24 sources.

Use caseWhat the record showsStatusSource
Large Transaction ModelAn AI model trained on billions of transactions, announced June 2026, intended to improve fraud detection while raising authorization performance and cutting false declines.Announced[9]
A2A Protect (with Featurespace)Real-time risk scoring for account-to-account payments using transfer learning and network-level signals; Visa says it increased fraud detection by 75% in the first six months of deployment, and the September 2026 version adds a unified Featurespace-based score with plain-language alert explanations.In production[20]
BioCatch behavioral intelligence (pending)Behavioral-biometrics models covering account takeover, scams, money mules and application fraud; Visa agreed to buy BioCatch for $2.4 billion in August 2026, with closing expected by the end of fiscal Q2 2027.Announced[19][21]
Visa Vulnerability Agentic HarnessA governed multi-model pipeline that directs frontier models, including Anthropic's Claude Mythos, through threat modelling, verification, exploit-chain analysis and remediation of Visa's own code; open-sourced in June 2026 with human review of findings, and extended to remediation and validation in August 2026.In production[18][22]
DateMoveDetailSource
Sep 1, 2026A2A Protect adds first Featurespace-based unified scoreVisa launches an enhanced A2A Protect with a unified fraud score, its first in-market integration of Featurespace technology; each alert carries a plain-language explanation of why a payment was flagged.[20]
Aug 27, 2026Vulnerability harness extended to remediationVisa releases a new version of the Visa Vulnerability Agentic Harness that adds closed-loop remediation and validation and lets organizations deploy approved Anthropic and OpenAI models or other models by configuration; Visa says it has been downloaded by tens of thousands of developers since June 2026, and launches cybersecurity advisory services around it.[22]
Aug 3, 2026Agreement to acquire BioCatch for $2.4 billionVisa signs a definitive agreement to buy BioCatch, whose AI and machine-learning models analyse behavioral, device and network signals to detect account takeover, scams and mule accounts, from funds advised by Permira; closing is expected by the end of Visa's fiscal Q2 2027, subject to regulatory approval.[19][21]
Jul 28, 2026About 2,600 jobs cut; AI cited as one factorVisa plans to eliminate roughly 2,600 positions, about 7% of its workforce, mostly in technology and product. A person with direct knowledge told CNBC AI was a significant factor but not the sole driver. Fiscal Q3 results the same day include $563 million of severance costs.[7][23][24]
Jun 10, 2026Visa Vulnerability Agentic Harness open-sourcedAfter testing Anthropic's Claude Mythos against its own infrastructure under Project Glasswing, Visa releases the harness that directs AI models through vulnerability discovery, verification and remediation, with human review at key points.[18]
Jun 10, 2026OpenAI partnership, Agentic Directory and Large Transaction ModelAt Visa Payments Forum Visa announces a strategic collaboration with OpenAI to enable Visa payments in agentic commerce, an Agentic Directory of verified agents and merchants, and a Large Transaction Model trained on billions of transactions.[9][17]
Apr 30, 2025Visa Intelligent Commerce launchesAt the Visa Global Product Drop, Visa opens its network to developers building AI agents that browse, select and buy for consumers, naming Anthropic, IBM, Microsoft, Mistral AI, OpenAI, Perplexity, Stripe and Samsung as collaborators.[8]
Dec 19, 2024Featurespace acquisition completesVisa completes its acquisition of Featurespace, a Cambridge, UK developer of real-time AI payments-protection technology, folding it into the Risk and Identity Solutions unit. Visa's FY2025 10-K puts the purchase consideration at $946 million.[14][10]
Common questions

How much has Visa spent on AI?

Rajat Taneja told Fortune in October 2025 that Visa spent $3.5 billion building its AI platform and about $12 billion on technology overall over five years. In 2023 Visa said it had spent more than $3 billion on AI and data infrastructure over 10 years. Visa does not report an annual AI budget.

Which AI models does Visa use?

Fortune reported in February 2025 that Visa works with OpenAI, Anthropic's Claude, Google and open-source models from IBM, Meta and Mistral AI. In April 2026 Taneja told Business Insider that Claude was the most popular chatbot among employees, often swapping places with ChatGPT, with Google's Gemini also widely used.

Did Visa cut jobs because of AI?

Partly, by its own account. On July 28, 2026 Visa said it would cut about 2,600 roles, roughly 7% of its workforce, mostly in technology and product. A person with direct knowledge told CNBC AI was a significant factor but not the sole driver, and McInerney described reorganising product teams into smaller agentic squads.

What does Visa's CEO say about AI and agentic commerce?

McInerney said on the April 28, 2026 call that AI and agentic commerce will expand Visa's addressable market in four ways, including micro transactions by agents and faster B2B digitisation. On July 28, 2026 he said AI is transforming the front end of commerce and called agentic commerce "a when, not an if".

What AI risks does Visa list in its 10-K?

The FY2025 10-K says AI regulation is fragmented with no single global framework, lists risks from training data, intellectual property and personal data, and says agentic commerce presents novel regulatory, privacy and cybersecurity risks, including more erroneous or disputed payments, more chargebacks and reputational harm as it scales.

Deeper on Visa
Visa AI strategy: the full profile →How does Visa use AI across its payment ecosystem? →What is Visa's role in the digital payments transformation? →How does Visa use AI for fraud and risk? →What is Visa doing in agentic commerce? →What is Visa's role in open finance and open banking? →
Same question, other companies
Nubank: ai strategy →Revolut: ai strategy →Chime: ai strategy →Affirm: ai strategy →Klarna: ai strategy →PayPal: ai strategy →Block: ai strategy →Stripe: ai strategy →Adyen: ai strategy →Wise: ai strategy →Mastercard: ai strategy →Ramp: ai strategy →Brex: ai strategy →Plaid: ai strategy →Ally: What is Ally Financial's AI strategy? →Amex: What is American Express's AI strategy and technology vision? →Arvest: What is Arvest Bank's AI strategy? →BofA: What is Bank of America's AI strategy and technology vision? →BankUnited: What is BankUnited's AI strategy? →Barclays US: What is Barclays US Consumer Bank's AI strategy? →BMO: What is BMO's AI strategy, and how does it reach the U.S. bank? →BNY: What is BNY's AI strategy and future technology vision? →BOK Financial: What is BOK Financial's AI strategy? →Schwab: What is Charles Schwab's AI strategy? →Citi: What is Citigroup's AI strategy? →Citizens: What is Citizens Financial Group's AI strategy? →City National: What is City National Bank's AI strategy? →Commonwealth Bank: What is Commonwealth Bank's AI strategy? →Deutsche Bank: What is Deutsche Bank's AI strategy, and how does it reach the US bank? →Fifth Third: What is Fifth Third's AI strategy? →First Citizens: What is First Citizens' AI strategy? →First Interstate: What is First Interstate's AI strategy? →First Merchants: What is First Merchants' AI strategy? →Flagstar: What is Flagstar Bank's AI strategy? →FNB: What is FNB's AI strategy, and what has its CEO said about it? →FNBO: What is FNBO's AI strategy, and who drives it? →Frost: What is Frost Bank's AI strategy? →Goldman: What is Goldman Sachs' AI strategy? →Huntington: What is Huntington's AI strategy and who runs it? →JPMorgan: What is JPMorgan Chase's AI strategy and technology vision? →KeyBank: What is KeyBank's AI strategy? →Morgan Stanley: What is Morgan Stanley's AI strategy? →MUFG: What is MUFG's AI strategy? →Northern Trust: What is Northern Trust's AI strategy? →OCBC: What is OCBC's AI strategy? →Pinnacle: What is Pinnacle Financial Partners' AI strategy? →PNC: What is PNC's AI strategy and technology vision? →Raymond James: What is Raymond James' AI strategy? →Regions: What is Regions' AI strategy and technology vision? →Sallie Mae: What is Sallie Mae's AI strategy? →Santander: What is Santander's AI strategy in the United States? →SoFi: What is SoFi's AI strategy? →SouthState: What is SouthState's AI strategy? →State Street: What is State Street's AI strategy? →TD: What is TD Bank's AI strategy? →TowneBank: What is TowneBank's AI strategy? →Truist: What is Truist's AI strategy? →UBS: What is UBS's AI strategy, and how does it apply to UBS in the US? →UMB: What is UMB's AI strategy, and what has it said about AI? →U.S. Bank: What is U.S. Bancorp's AI strategy? →USAA: What is USAA's AI strategy, and what have its leaders said about it? →Wells Fargo: What is Wells Fargo's AI strategy and technology vision? →Western Alliance: What is Western Alliance's AI strategy? →Zions: What is Zions Bancorporation's AI strategy? →
Across payments and fintech
Fintech AI dossiers →Which large banks lead in AI? →Which banks lead in agentic AI? →Mastercard AI profile →Stripe AI profile →Anthropic Claude vendor profile →Featurespace profile →SEC AI oversight →All 52 fintech pages →
Sources
  1. Earnings call transcript: Visa tops Q3 2026 estimates, raises outlook
    Investing.com (earnings call transcript) · Jul 28, 2026
  2. Visa (V) Q2 2026 earnings call transcript
    The Motley Fool (earnings call transcript) · Apr 29, 2026
  3. How Visa wove AI into every facet of the company by approaching it as both a science and an art
    Fortune · Oct 7, 2025
  4. How Visa places big bets on AI and gen AI to secure 639 million daily transactions
    Fortune · Feb 5, 2025
  5. Visa says it's burning through almost 2 trillion AI tokens per month
    Business Insider · Apr 10, 2026
  6. Visa (V) Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
    The Motley Fool (earnings call transcript) · Oct 28, 2025
  7. Visa is cutting 7% of employees in efficiency push as AI reshapes work
    CNBC · Jul 28, 2026
  8. The Future is Here: Visa Announces New Era of Commerce Featuring AI
    Visa · Apr 30, 2025
  9. Visa Announces New AI, Stablecoin and Token Innovations to Power Intelligent, Programmable Commerce at Visa Payments Forum
    Visa · Jun 10, 2026
  10. Visa Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025
    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · Nov 6, 2025
  11. Visa (V) Q3 2025 earnings call transcript
    The Motley Fool (earnings call transcript) · Aug 4, 2025
  12. Visa Expands Money Movement as Card Spending Accelerates
    PYMNTS · Jul 29, 2026
  13. 30 years of AI and counting (Rajat Taneja, President of Technology)
    Visa · Sep 14, 2023
  14. Visa Completes Acquisition of Featurespace
    Visa · Dec 19, 2024
  15. Visa advances agentic commerce with MCP Server, Acceptance Agent Toolkit
    Visa · Sep 4, 2025
  16. Visa Introduces Trusted Agent Protocol: An Ecosystem-Led Framework for AI Commerce
    Visa · Oct 14, 2025
  17. Visa Partners with OpenAI to Power the Next Generation of AI Commerce
    Visa · Jun 10, 2026
  18. Visa Releases Its AI-Powered Cyber Defense System to Open Source
    Visa · Jun 10, 2026
  19. Visa to Acquire BioCatch
    Visa · Aug 3, 2026
  20. Visa Launches Enhanced A2A Protect Innovations to Help Financial Institutions Stop Fraud Before Money Leaves Accounts
    Visa · Sep 1, 2026
  21. Visa to buy cybersecurity firm BioCatch for $2.4 billion amid surge in AI-powered scams
    CNBC · Aug 3, 2026
  22. Visa Expands Support for its Clients and the Industry as Organizations Navigate New AI Era of Cybersecurity
    Visa · Aug 27, 2026
  23. Visa says AI is helping to enable workforce cuts
    American Banker · Jul 28, 2026
  24. Visa Reports Fiscal Third Quarter 2026 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · Jul 28, 2026

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