Visa CEO Alfred Kelly to Retire
Visa Inc.
V 0.40%
said on Thursday that
Alfred Kelly
will step aside as chief executive, effective February, and become executive chairman of its board.
Ryan McInerney,
the card giant’s longtime president, will become the next chief executive.
Mr. Kelly’s time atop the company, which began in 2016, overlapped with a continuing shift to digital payments as more consumers pay with cards, a process that further accelerated during the pandemic. During his tenure, Visa, which is the largest card network in the U.S., also further expanded its focus on other payment flows. These include helping money move over its network without the use of cards, including for transactions that involve governments and businesses.
The importance of Visa’s role in the global payments system was highlighted when Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year. Visa and other payments companies were called on to shut off payments in Russia as part of a broader effort to block the country from the Western financial system.
During Mr. Kelly’s tenure, Visa’s market value more than doubled and the company is now worth more than $400 billion. While the shares have lost about 4% during 2022’s market tumult, they have fared far better than broader markets that are down by double digits.
Mr. McInerney has been Visa’s president since 2013. In that role, has been responsible for the company’s global businesses as well as its relationships with banks, merchants, fintechs and other entities. The company hasn’t yet named a new president.
Despite its growth, Visa has faced a number of challenges in recent years. The Justice Department launched an investigation into the company last year, probing whether Visa has unlawfully maintained a dominant market share in debit cards. That investigation, which is ongoing, began after the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa in 2020 that challenged its planned acquisition of fintech firm Plaid. The Justice Department at the time said the acquisition would allow Visa to unlawfully maintain a monopoly in the online debit market. Visa abandoned the Plaid deal in early 2021.
The Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, is investigating whether Visa and its competitor
Mastercard Inc.
are restricting debit-card routing competition in online payments.
In addition, recently introduced legislation in Congress aims to add competition in the credit-card sector in a way that takes aim at Visa and Mastercard. The Senate and House versions of the bills, which were introduced by Democratic and Republican congressional members, are viewed as the most significant legislative risk to the cards sector since the Durbin amendment of 2010. They call for Visa and Mastercard credit cards that are issued by the largest banks to enable at least one other unaffiliated network for routing.
Write to AnnaMaria Andriotis at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Visa Inc.
V 0.40%
said on Thursday that
Alfred Kelly
will step aside as chief executive, effective February, and become executive chairman of its board.
Ryan McInerney,
the card giant’s longtime president, will become the next chief executive.
Mr. Kelly’s time atop the company, which began in 2016, overlapped with a continuing shift to digital payments as more consumers pay with cards, a process that further accelerated during the pandemic. During his tenure, Visa, which is the largest card network in the U.S., also further expanded its focus on other payment flows. These include helping money move over its network without the use of cards, including for transactions that involve governments and businesses.
The importance of Visa’s role in the global payments system was highlighted when Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year. Visa and other payments companies were called on to shut off payments in Russia as part of a broader effort to block the country from the Western financial system.
During Mr. Kelly’s tenure, Visa’s market value more than doubled and the company is now worth more than $400 billion. While the shares have lost about 4% during 2022’s market tumult, they have fared far better than broader markets that are down by double digits.
Mr. McInerney has been Visa’s president since 2013. In that role, has been responsible for the company’s global businesses as well as its relationships with banks, merchants, fintechs and other entities. The company hasn’t yet named a new president.
Despite its growth, Visa has faced a number of challenges in recent years. The Justice Department launched an investigation into the company last year, probing whether Visa has unlawfully maintained a dominant market share in debit cards. That investigation, which is ongoing, began after the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa in 2020 that challenged its planned acquisition of fintech firm Plaid. The Justice Department at the time said the acquisition would allow Visa to unlawfully maintain a monopoly in the online debit market. Visa abandoned the Plaid deal in early 2021.
The Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, is investigating whether Visa and its competitor
Mastercard Inc.
are restricting debit-card routing competition in online payments.
In addition, recently introduced legislation in Congress aims to add competition in the credit-card sector in a way that takes aim at Visa and Mastercard. The Senate and House versions of the bills, which were introduced by Democratic and Republican congressional members, are viewed as the most significant legislative risk to the cards sector since the Durbin amendment of 2010. They call for Visa and Mastercard credit cards that are issued by the largest banks to enable at least one other unaffiliated network for routing.
Write to AnnaMaria Andriotis at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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