What Keeps Visa at the Forefront of Cybersecurity Innovation?

In a world where cyber threats are evolving at lightning speed, Visa Inc. V isn’t just keeping up — it is leading the charge. By protecting millions of transactions every day and breaking down complex fraud networks, this payments powerhouse has turned cybersecurity into a key competitive edge.

A great example of innovation is the Visa Cybersecurity Advisory Practice, which kicked off in August 2025. This initiative is designed to help organizations, no matter their size, bolster their defenses through assessments, protection against enumeration attacks and tailored staff training — all backed by Visa Consulting & Analytics and led by cybersecurity expert Jeremiah Dewey.

V has invested around $12 billion in technology and infrastructure over the last five years, utilizing state-of-the-art instruments, specialized knowledge, and strong procedures to identify and combat fraud. Through malware detection, it prevented 80 million fraudulent transactions, blocked $40 billion in fraudulent payment attempts and prevented over $122 million in potential e-commerce fraud in the last year. The company also enhanced its Visa Account Attack Intelligence (VAAI) offering with the VAAI Score, a new tool that harnesses generative AI to pinpoint and evaluate enumeration attacks.

When it comes to payment security, Visa Protect for Account-to-Account (A2A) payments leverages cutting-edge AI technology to evaluate hundreds of risk factors in just milliseconds. This proactive approach helps banks prevent fraud before it even reaches their customers. By merging proactive intelligence with advanced AI solutions, V is constantly reshaping the landscape of secure digital commerce.

How Are Competitors Faring?

Some of V’s competitors in the innovative cybersecurity space include Mastercard Incorporated MA and PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL.

Mastercard is reinforcing its cybersecurity leadership through major investments and advanced AI initiatives. Since 2018, Mastercard has poured over $10.7 billion into cybersecurity innovation, building a robust portfolio that features value-added services, strategic acquisitions and partnerships, as well as cutting-edge fraud prevention technologies.

PayPal has been consistently enhancing its cybersecurity measures to stay ahead of the ever-evolving digital threats. Their AI-powered risk engine evaluates transactions, looking for unusual patterns in user behavior, device usage and transaction activities in real time. PayPal is moving toward a password-less future with the utilization of Passkeys, allowing for biometric or device-based verification that effectively combats phishing attempts.

Visa’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Visa have jumped 6.3% in the year-to-date period compared with the 0.5% rise of the industry.

From a valuation standpoint, V trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, above the industry average of 21.25. V carries a Value Score of D.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Visa’s fiscal 2025 earnings implies a 13.9% jump from the year-ago period.

Visa stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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