Visa Credentials Soar as It Eyes Agentic Commerce

Visa Reports $10.9 Billion in Revenue as Credentials drive⁢ Growth

Visa began fiscal year 2026 demonstrating a shift in its⁤ payments architecture,with credentials – ⁢not just cards ‍- now serving as the primary anchor for its global network. ⁣ The company reported net revenue of $10.9 billion for the fiscal first quarter, a 15% increase‍ year-over-year, according to earnings materials.

CEO Ryan mcinerney stated during a January ⁢29, 2026, ‍conference call⁢ with analysts that ‍the “core of ‍our consumer payments business is ⁢the Visa credential… It’s the connection point to the Visa network.” Payments volume increased 8% in constant dollars, reaching nearly $4 trillion during ⁤the quarter.

Key highlights from the quarter include:

• Credentials: Visa now has over 5 billion credentials worldwide.
• Tap-to-Pay: Tap-to-pay transactions accounted for over 80% of all face-to-face transactions globally, nearing 70% in the U.S.
• Visa Flex: Approximately 20 million Visa Flex credentials⁢ are in use, allowing multiple funding sources. The company anticipates 20 additional issuers will adopt the ⁢technology this⁤ year.
• Tokenization: The number of tokens used to replace card numbers ‍in digital commerce surpassed 17.5 billion globally, exceeding three times the number ⁢of physical cards in circulation.
• Guest ⁣Checkout ⁣Reduction: Visa reduced guest checkout rates in eCommerce from 44% in 2019 to approximately 16% currently, and to under 4%⁣ among its top 25 merchants.

McInerney noted that 96% of⁤ transactions at Visa’s top 25 sellers now require ⁢only a simple click or biometric authentication.