Visa Inc. started off as the BankAmericard credit card program in mid-September of 1958 in Fresno, California. Two years earlier, with Joseph P. Williams at the helm, the Bank of America’s product development team launched a massive unsolicited mailing campaign. Similar mailings previously launched were simply credit card applications.
This campaign featured 60 000 real credit cards the recipients could use immediately. Needless to say, the campaign was a huge success. Today, Visa doesn’t actually issue any cards or provide any credit. That part of the service is provided by various financial institutions. Visa simply provides the brand name companies around the world have grown to know and trust.
When you pay with a Visa card, the merchant is guaranteed payment. It is the responsibility of the financial institution that issued the card to get payment from you. In exchange for using Visa-branded products, Visa receives a small percentage of each transaction. Visa cards are accepted all over the world and the company has operations across every continent except Antarctica.
Visa: Canadian customer support service
For most inquires, simply call the number on the back of your Visa card. If your card was issued by a Canadian financial institution, it will have the correct Canadian customer support toll-free number for you to call. But if your card was lost or stolen, you won’t have this number handy. In that case, immediately call the financial institution that issued the card or call toll-free number 1-800-847-2911. You should always have this toll-free number with you, just in case.
For other questions about Visa, check out their extensive FAQ section. Here you will learn how to get a card, how to dispute a charge, how to earn rewards for using your card and much much more. Since Visa cards are issued by financial institutions, the customer support number you call depends on which bank issued the card. Some examples include:
- Bank of America bofa.com.
- Customer Service: 1-800-441-6437
- Collect Calls Outside Canada and USA: 1-602-597-4438
- Business Credit Cards: (416) 349-4100 or toll-free: 1-800-300-3084
- General Inquiries: 1-800-400-4091
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cibc.com
- Customer Service: (416) 785-3233 or toll-free: 1-800-465-4653
- Additional Customer Service: (416) 980-4653 or toll-free: 1-888-377-7797
- Merchant Services: toll-free: 1-800-263-2970 or 1-800-361-8170
- Lost & Stolen Cards: (416) 785-8090
- Automated Voice Authorizations: (514) 861-8099 or toll-free:1-800-268-8241
- Desjardins desjardins.com
- Customer Service: toll-free: 1-800-363-3380
- Authorizations: toll-free: 1-800-361-8120
If you’d like to speak to someone at Visa Canada, call 416-367-8472, or write to:
Visa Canada Corporation
77 King Street West, Suite 4400
P.O Box 265,
Toronto, ON M5K 1J5
Alternatively, you can send an email. If you’re hanging out online, stay in touch with Visa Canada through Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus. Their motto wraps it all up nicely – Visa. Everywhere you want to be.