Licensing Program

In order to become a licensed Visa issuer or merchant acquirer, you must provide Visa with some information to get going. This information is important to ensure all licensed partners are vetted and meet certain regional requirements for various regulations.

If approved, you will unlock the power of Visa issuing and acquiring and get access to several other products and services we provide – like Visa APIs and solutions.

Contact your regional licensing team to get started:

Woman and man holding a contract

Types of Licenses

The licensing program is built to accommodate two types of clients:

Principal Clients

Clients who fall into this bucket are typically larger institutions who are experienced in risk underwriting, credit management, billing customers, and collecting payments. 

Benefits of becoming a principal client:

These clients work directly with Visa for product development and marketing. While there are service fees that are required, these clients have the most flexibility for the capabilities they are able to manage and are fully responsible for all activities associated with the assigned BIN. These clients are typically high-volume banks and financial institutions.

Principal client capabilities

  • May issue cards
  • May disburse cash
  • May acquire merchants
  • Holds settlement risk
  • Hosts own processing
  • May sponsor others
  • Handles reporting (and sponsorees)
  • Pays ongoing fees (and sponsorees)
  • Directly licenses a BIN
  • Complies with Visa rules
  • Registers third party agents

Associate Clients

Smaller institutions who operate with the assistance of a Principal for certain aspects, such as settlement, reporting, and fee payment.

Benefits of becoming an associate client:

These clients have full ownership of their licensing program, with the sponsorship of a principal client. 

These clients are typically smaller credit unions, startups, or other entities.                                                                      

Associate client capabilities

  • May issue cards
  • May disburse cash
  • May acquire merchants
  • Directly licenses a BIN
  • Complies with Visa rules
  • Registers third party agents

Interested in applying for a license?

The process for obtaining a Visa license has changed and now lives on Visa Access. If you have an existing application in VPP, you can continue working on it as usual.

1. Contact Visa

Work with your Visa Representative or regional licensing team to confirm eligibility and next steps:

2. Access Visa systems

Once eligible, you'll receive Visa Access credentials to begin your licensing application.

3. Submit application

Complete your application in the Visa Client Lifecyle Management Tool, found in Visa Access. A temporary organization ID (UVID) will be assigned while your information is reviewed.

4. Approval

Once approved, your organization will receive a final Business ID.

Application Review Process

Visa licensing applications are reviewed by regional teams to ensure they meet Visa requirements, local regulations, and your role in the payments ecosystem.
 

  • Regulatory Permissions: We will verify that your organization has the necessary regulatory permissions to operate in line with your business activities and long-term plans.

  • Financial Compliance: We will verify your AML and ATF programs to determine they meet Visa's requirements and an assessment is completed; including a required compliance questionnaire.

  • Credit & Settlement Risk: We will assess your ability to meet settlement obligations through a review of your business plan and financial information, conducted before licensing and annually.

  • Risk Management: We will evaluate your organizational structure and controls to ensure risks are properly managed, including the presence of effective fraud prevention system.