New York, Jan 12, 2026, 5:11 PM EST — After-hours
- Visa shares were down about 1.8% in late trading, tracking a pullback in card-linked stocks
- A White House push to cap credit-card interest rates at 10% put fresh policy risk back on the tape
- Traders now look to big-bank results this week and any details ahead of Jan. 20
Visa Inc. shares fell in after-hours trading on Monday, extending a session slide as investors sold card and payments names after President Donald Trump called for a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates. Visa was down 1.8% at $343.20.
The move matters because it drops a blunt policy headline into the market just as banks start reporting quarterly results and investors are trying to pin down the direction of U.S. consumer credit in 2026. The cap talk also widens the range of outcomes for the whole card ecosystem — lenders, networks and rewards-heavy co-brands — in a way traders hate.
Visa does not lend money to cardholders, but it sits in the flow of transactions. When credit tightens or card programs get tweaked to protect issuer margins, payments volume can cool, and that can show up quickly in network growth.
Trading was choppy. Visa hit an intraday low of $337.54 and a high of $346.37, with volume around 13.2 million shares.
Trump on Friday called for a one-year cap of 10% on credit-card interest rates starting Jan. 20, without laying out how firms would be made to comply. Wall Street analysts flagged the legal and political hurdles; UBS said, “It would take an Act of Congress,” while Seaport Research’s Bill Ryan wrote that “affordability has become a top concern” and J.P. Morgan’s Vivek Juneja warned it could “push consumers towards more expensive debt.” Visa and Mastercard each slipped about 1.8% on the day, while American Express fell more sharply. (Reuters)
For lenders, the risk is direct: a hard cap would squeeze interest income on revolving balances — amounts cardholders do not pay off each month. Analysts have argued issuers could respond by cutting credit limits, closing accounts at the lower end of the credit spectrum, or reshaping rewards to protect profitability.
For Visa, the hit would be second-order but still real if it leads to less credit availability, weaker spending, or a shake-up in co-branded card economics. Even talk of it can shift positioning. The market is quick to treat Visa as a liquid proxy for U.S. card activity when headlines hit.
But the downside case depends on Washington, not just the market. If Congress does not move and the proposal stalls, the sector could claw back losses as traders refocus on fundamentals like spending and cross-border travel flows. If details firm up — or if lawmakers signal traction — the stock could stay under pressure.
Next up, investors get a read on credit trends and card commentary from the banks. JPMorgan Chase is scheduled to release results on Tuesday, Jan. 13, followed by major peers including Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo on Wednesday, Jan. 14. (JPMorgan Chase)
Visa also has a shareholder date on the calendar: its 2026 annual meeting is set for Jan. 27. For traders, though, the nearer catalyst is Jan. 20 — the start date Trump flagged — and whether the administration provides a roadmap that makes the cap look more than a headline. (Sec)
