Leading by example

Promoting corporate responsibility and transparency for a successful business environment. Learn more in Visa’s 2017 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report.

Download the report

We believe the trust of investors, cardholders, merchants and financial institution clients needs to be earned. That is why Visa commits to the highest standards of professional and personal conduct and always seeks to act with openness and transparency. We have implemented a robust governance structure, and we regularly monitor our corporate governance policies and practises to ensure we meet or exceed the requirements of applicable laws, regulations and rules, the NYSE's listing standards and the expectations of our investors.

Visa's corporate governance framework, including our Corporate Governance guidelines exemplifies our commitment to these standards.

Key components include:

  • Our Board of Directors is comprised entirely of independent directors (other than our CEO), as are the key committees of the Board (Compensation, Audit and Risk, and Governance);
  • Each director is elected annually by our shareholders
  • Independent directors meet regularly in executive sessions;
  • Committee chairs are generally rotated at least once every 5 years;
  • The Board and each Committee conduct annual self-evaluations and peer reviews, and our Board is actively engaged in succession planning at the Board and management levels
  • The charters of the Board's committees clearly establish the roles and responsibilities of each of the committees

Visa also has a comprehensive Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for how we conduct everyday business activities around the world. The Code applies to all directors, officers, employees and contingent staff and covers a wide range of business practises and standards. The Code requires personnel to engage in honest and ethical conduct in performing their duties, details guidelines for how we ethically handle actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships and provides a mechanism for anyone inside or outside the company to report a suspected violation of the Code.

Download Visa's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

As a further extension of our commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainability and to seek to mitigate risk in our supply chain, Visa has adopted a new Supplier Code of Conduct to articulate our expectations to those who provide us with goods and/or services. The Code goes beyond compliance with local law and is based upon universal principles that align with Visa’s values globally. The Code outlines our expectations of our suppliers in areas including human rights, employment practices, environmental impact, supplier diversity, conflicts of interest and other areas of responsible business.

Download Visa's Supplier Code of Conduct

Note: Nothing in this Code or in any Visa policy prevents you from communicating directly with government agencies or law enforcement about actual or potential violations of laws or regulations. You do not need the prior permission of Visa’s Legal Department to engage in such communications, nor do you need to inform the company about such communications.

Our collective strength – fuelled by the different backgrounds and perspectives of our employees – makes Visa a better place to work and a better business partner for our clients around the world. We believe that having an inclusive environment allows us to fully leverage the contributions of our employees, which then enriches our organisation and drives Visa’s global success.

Visa’s approach to D&I involves three key areas of focus:

  • People First: Our goal at Visa is to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is reflective of the business and communities we support. We are looking for teams that bring diversity of thought, experience and backgrounds to the table at every level.
  • Environment Is Key: We are focused on fostering an inclusive organisational environment that celebrates differences and encourages unique perspectives.
  • Leaders Can Make a Difference: We are promoting cultural agility among all Visa leaders to maximise workforce engagement and ensure a more robust talent pipeline and leadership alignment and engagement.

As part of our efforts, Visa sponsors Diversity and Inclusion employee groups which support all aspects of diversity and inclusion at Visa, including employee resource groups, diversity and inclusion chapters, and the allies group. The employee groups host a variety of events, including seminars, workshops and presentations to enhance awareness and understanding of diversity and inclusion as well as providing development experiences and business knowledge.

Our Supplier Diversity Programme is founded on three basic operating principles:

  • Promoting business opportunities for diverse businesses and ensuring they have fair access to bid and contract opportunities.
  • Growing the amount of quality products and services we procure directly from diverse suppliers or indirectly from companies who share our commitment to diversity.
  • Communicating the value of supplier diversity, both internally and externally.

Living up to the trust that Visa customers, shareholders, employees and community stakeholders have placed in us means doing our part to reduce our environmental impact while also increasing efficiencies and lowering costs. As a global payments technology company, our primary opportunities for reducing our direct environmental impacts lie in the efforts we make to operate our data centres and office buildings efficiently and responsibly, as the energy usage associated with these types of facilities comprise approximately 75% of our greenhouse gas emissions.

Visa is advancing efforts to reduce these emissions through our commitment to use 100 percent renewable electricity across our global operations by the end of 2019. To reach this goal, Visa is pursuing immediate action across our global facilities portfolio.

This initiative is part of a broader, ongoing effort by Visa to minimise the environmental footprint of our payments ecosystem. We pursue certification for our facilities through the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) programme, the world’s most widely recognised and applied benchmark for green buildings. We also seek to curtail paper usage, source our supplies and electronics responsibly, divert waste from landfills and promote a culture of sustainability among our employees at work and at home.

Specific initiatives have included:

  • Energy reduction through efficient lighting and controls, HVAC upgrades and data centre infrastructure improvements
  • Waste reduction through a robust composting and recycling programme and by using environmentally preferable office supplies such as printer paper with 30 per cent post-consumer recycled content
  • Water reduction through low flow water fixtures and responsible landscaping
  • Transportation impact reduction through employee shuttles, public transit subsidies and virtual meetings
  • Visa joins RE100 – a collaborative, global platform developed by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP to increase demand for – and delivery of – renewable energy

We also are committed to transparency around our environmental impact. In particular, Visa is a multi-year respondent to the annual Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) process for disclosing climate change impact and management.

Public sector decisions significantly affect our business and industry, as well as the communities in which we operate. For this reason, we participate in the political process through regular and constructive engagement with government officials and policy-makers, by encouraging the civic involvement of our employees, and by contributing to state and local candidates and political organisations where permitted by applicable law.

We are committed to conducting these activities in a manner that reflects responsible corporate citizenship and best serves the interests of our shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders. Additional information regarding our political activities and oversight may be found below and by clicking on the links on this page. Learn more about our governance structure and practices.