New York, Feb 24, 2026, 05:02 (EST) — Premarket
- Visa recovered about 0.2% in early premarket action, coming off a steep slide Monday.
- Mastercard and American Express shares lost ground as investors pulled back from payment names in a risk-off trade.
- Traders eye whether the AI-fueled selloff extends, with attention also turning to Visa’s investor events set for March.
Visa Inc edged up 0.2% to $307.09 in early premarket action Tuesday, clawing back a bit after its sharp drop the previous session.
Shares finished Monday at $306.52, down 4.5%. The stock opened at $319.04, slipped to a session low of $304.71, and ended near the bottom, according to quote data posted by the company.
Visa shares slid as investors grew wary, pulling back from companies seen at risk from rapid AI changes and renewed tariff questions. “You’ve seen the market react to headlines, it’s ‘sell first, assess later,’” said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Reuters
The pullback didn’t stop there. Shares of Mastercard slid 5.7%, while American Express tumbled 7.2% in the last session.
Citrini Research’s scenario note, making the rounds this day, zeroed in on the anxiety: AI “agents” acting for consumers could seek out lower-cost payment routes, putting the 2%-3% interchange fee squarely in the crosshairs. Stablecoins—crypto tokens usually linked to conventional currencies—got the nod as a possible alternative. Citrini Research
Interchange—the fee merchants shell out on card purchases—primarily lines the pockets of card-issuing banks. Visa doesn’t collect the full interchange cut; instead, its revenue comes from network and processing fees. Still, its fortunes ride heavily on maintaining card volumes and keeping cross-border flows humming.
Visa shares dragged on the Dow, joining IBM and American Express among the hardest hit in Monday’s selloff, according to MarketWatch data. The stock’s decline contributed to the benchmark’s losses as broad selling swept the index.
Another headache, less flashy but persistent: pressure on fees from both regulators and the courts. Back in November, Visa and Mastercard put forward a tweaked $38 billion settlement with merchants over swipe fees. But a judge still needs to sign off, and merchant groups say it falls short for plenty of retailers. “You can’t just suddenly tell more than 80% of your card customers you’re not going to take their cards,” said Stephanie Martz, general counsel for the National Retail Federation. Reuters
Traders are left wondering if Monday’s sharp move marks just a quick flush-out, or signals the beginning of a more sustained de-rating for “toll booth” models reliant on transaction fees. In early premarket hours, price action stayed subdued.
Visa’s next major dates fall in March. Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell will appear at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 3. Then on March 11, Commercial & Money Movement Solutions President Chris Newkirk is lined up for the Wolfe Research FinTech Forum, according to the company.
