New York, Jan 16, 2026, 12:01 EST — Regular session
- Visa shares ticked up 0.3% to $328.67 by midday; Mastercard saw a modest gain, but American Express led the pack with stronger gains
- The UK High Court handed regulators the green light to target caps on specific cross-border card fees
- Visa will release its fiscal first-quarter results on Jan. 29. Investors are focused on spending patterns, fee pressures, and developments in new payment rails.
Visa Inc (V.N) shares ticked up on Friday, following a UK court ruling against the company over regulators’ efforts to limit certain card fees. By 12:01 p.m. EST, the stock had gained 0.3% to $328.67. Mastercard (MA.N) nudged 0.2% higher, while American Express (AXP.N) climbed 2.5%.
The rebound is modest, yet attention is intense. Interchange fees—the costs merchants incur when accepting card payments—have returned to the regulatory radar, with investors watching closely to see how aggressively authorities might act.
Mastercard, Visa, and British fintech Revolut lost their legal bid on Thursday in London against the UK’s Payments Systems Regulator. The dispute centered on the regulator’s plan to cap cross-border interchange fees charged when European shoppers buy from UK businesses online. Judge John Cavanagh confirmed the regulator’s authority to set price caps, though details on the exact limits and timing remain unsettled. Visa has pushed back, warning that such caps could “negatively impact the value people and businesses receive” from card payments. 1
Traders face a tricky wait for clarity. Visa announced it will release fiscal first-quarter results on Jan. 29 after markets close, followed by a webcast at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. The company is currently observing its usual “quiet period” ahead of the public report. 2
Visa is positioning itself to stay central in crypto payments, even as the underlying infrastructure shifts. The company’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, noted there’s still no “merchant acceptance at scale” for stablecoins—cryptos usually pegged to the U.S. dollar—and emphasized that users must connect back to Visa’s existing acceptance network to actually spend them. Sheffield said Visa’s stablecoin settlement volumes have reached a $4.5 billion annualized run rate and continue “growing significantly month over month,” though that’s still just a tiny fraction of the $14.2 trillion Visa processed last year. 3
Shares in the group have been volatile amid conflicting signals from U.S. policymakers. President Donald Trump proposed a one-year cap on credit card interest rates and backed the Credit Card Competition Act. This bill would force big-bank credit cards to provide at least two payment networks, curbing Visa or Mastercard’s dominance on individual cards, according to 4 .
Visa doesn’t control credit card interest rates or lend to consumers. But stricter rules can dent transaction volumes if banks tighten credit. They can also squeeze the network’s earnings per swipe if fees face scrutiny.
Investors are zeroing in on three key factors: signs that U.S. consumer spending might be cooling, whether cross-border transaction volumes remain steady as travel picks up, and if regulators overseas target the fee structures that have traditionally fueled profits for card networks.
Things can shift fast. A hard cap in the UK would directly squeeze the sector. In the U.S., legislative moves might keep valuation pressure high, even if the chances of passing a bill seem slim. Meanwhile, stablecoins remain more promise than practical payment method for now.
Jan. 29 is the key date, with Visa set to report earnings and hold its call. Traders want to hear about payment volumes, cross-border activity, and any clues on how much fee pressure the company expects to handle.
