Visa CEO Highlights Cross-Border Growth, AI Gains and Stablecoin Push
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney recently highlighted the company's continued strength in consumer spending, accelerating cross-border activity, and growing demand for cybersecurity, processing, and other value-added services. Speaking at a company news event, McInerney attributed Visa's performance to a strategy developed several years ago, organizational changes, and execution by its global leadership team.
Consumer Spending and Cross-Border Growth
McInerney characterized consumer spending conditions as marked by "strength and stability," despite uncertainty related to affordability, elections, and broader economic conditions. The company's U.S. business has grown roughly 6% to 8% over the past year and a half, with a 10% growth rate in the most recent quarter and a 9% growth rate quarter-to-date through the end of August. Globally, payment transaction growth was running at approximately 10% year over year through the end of August, with cross-border growth accelerating to about 14%, compared with approximately 12% in the prior quarter.
E-commerce has continued to grow faster than travel, according to McInerney. He also pointed to cross-border opportunities across consumer payments, Visa Direct, and commercial payments. Visa Direct has 18 billion endpoints globally, including accounts, cards, and wallets, McInerney said.
AI and Cybersecurity
McInerney said Visa has used artificial intelligence for decades and was an early adopter of generative AI tools following the emergence of ChatGPT. The company made a range of models and tools available to employees and provided training, support, and coaching. According to McInerney, Visa has seen measurable productivity gains in its product and technology organizations, including:
- An 80% increase in code commits
- An 80% reduction in the time required to design and build a product
- Feature development occurring 65% faster
He said AI-related productivity improvements are also occurring across functions including human resources, marketing, finance, disputes, and client service. Cybersecurity has become one of the top three issues raised by clients worldwide, McInerney said. Visa participated in Project Glasswing and used the Mythos model to test for vulnerabilities, he said.
Stablecoin Push and Payment Sovereignty
McInerney said Visa sees product-market fit for stablecoins in countries where consumers and businesses seek access to U.S. dollars and in cross-border remittances and business-to-business payments. The company has more than 200 stablecoin issuance programs in 50 countries and is building capabilities across blockchains, issuance, wallets, infrastructure, and applications.
Visa is also responding to payment sovereignty concerns by investing locally in Europe. The company recently announced a €500 million incremental investment in the region, including a European data center, additional offices, a Frankfurt headquarters, and an innovation center in Poland.
Visa's Strategy and Future Plans
McInerney said Visa's planned acquisition of BioCatch would expand its ability to address identity-related risks before a transaction occurs. BioCatch serves companies with billions of users, he said. McInerney also highlighted issuer benefits platforms, credential growth, tokenization, and the Pismo platform as contributors to the company's strategy.
Visa is developing tools including the Trusted Agent Protocol and Trusted Agent Directory to help merchants identify legitimate, purpose-driven agents. McInerney said research found that three out of four consumers do not trust agentic platforms to make payments independently using their financial information, while 61% said they would trust an agent to make payments if Visa were involved.
Conclusion
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney highlighted the company's continued strength in consumer spending, accelerating cross-border activity, and growing demand for cybersecurity, processing, and other value-added services. The company's strategy, organizational changes, and execution by its global leadership team have contributed to its success. As Visa continues to invest in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and stablecoin technologies, it is well-positioned to address the evolving needs of its clients and customers.