Visa (V): Is Its Economic Moat Strong Enough to Last?

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is one of the world's most recognizable brands. But its real advantage is much harder to replicate: its network effect. Visa has a network connecting consumers, merchants, banks, and payment providers worldwide. In the third quarter, Visa processed more than $4 trillion in payment volume for the first time, while processed transactions rose 10% year over year to a whopping 72 billion. Visa's size gives it a powerful network effect. The more consumers use Visa, the more valuable it is to merchants, and the more merchants accept it, the more useful it becomes to consumers. But the way people pay is changing quickly. Account-to-account payments, stablecoins, digital wallets and AI-powered shopping could all change how money moves.