In the vast galaxy of commerce, $Visa (V.US)$ with its secretive and massive body, it has quietly become one of the largest business organizations in the world.

Its trading volume is ten times that of retail giant Walmart, and its market value is more than twice that of General Electric.

Visa's success lies not only in its scale, but also in its almost invisible construction of a true invisible business empire.

The creator of all this is Dean Hawkes, who is still a "bullied little lamb" at the age of 36, and is one of the "Eight People Who Have Had the Most Impact on People's Lifestyles in the Past 25 Years" chosen by the influential American Fortune magazine.

01 Founder of Visa

Hawke was born during the early years of the Great Depression in 1929 and grew up in a poor family in Utah. He did various difficult physical labor jobs, and the cruel reality of that era was "Root, hog, or die".

Diy Hawk was an endless seeker of knowledge, and his childhood was filled with curiosity and exploration of the world. His rich survival experience filled him with love and awe for nature.

Although he obtained an associate degree, Hawke mostly self-educated himself. At the age of 14, he forged his age and got a job as a waste water pourer in a canned goods factory. He also worked as a dairy farm hand, a laborer, a slaughterhouse worker, and a farm pesticide sprayer.

The people around him said that he was too rebellious and it was difficult for him to succeed.

This self-taught financial innovator began his career in a consumer finance company in Los Angeles in 1951. Here, he lived a life where he was at the mercy of others, even being assigned to search for missing records in the garbage dump.

Doing meaningless work and being fooled, Hawke abhorred the "industrial age thinking" of centralization of power and bureaucratic hierarchy, where people were treated as gears and consumed.

We are in the global epidemic of "institutional failure", and Hawke despised this "mediocrity" involved in bureaucracy.

Optimistic, Hawk began to try his new system. Indeed, his team's performance improved, but he was unexpectedly fired. The bureaucratic system is not like nature where the fittest survive. When certain people become the wielders of power, it naturally leads to bias.

The experience of being dismissed made Hawk more averse to authority, but the situation quickly became worse.

Before being fired, Hawk began to use credit cards frequently, and uncontrolled consumption plunged him into uncontrollable debt. He and his wife experienced unprecedented financial pressure, with no savings to repay the debt. Hawk had to take on multiple jobs.

He shattered the credit cards and vowed never to do it again.

The importance of a stable, low financial risk credit system began to take root in his mind.

In 1965, Hawk moved to Seattle, living in dire straits as a father of three. He took on odd jobs at the National Bank, which made him unhappy and constantly thinking about leaving. Fortunately, he stayed...

In 1966, he was selected by his boss to solve a major problem in the credit card system, and Hawk embraced a life-changing opportunity, transforming from a bruised lamb to a giant in the super credit empire.

"I have never met anyone as powerful as him." "We are all limited in our way of thinking, but he is not." This is how his colleagues described Hawk.

"One of the eight individuals who changed people's lifestyles over the past 25 years," this is how highly influential American magazines described him.

How did Hawke complete the transformation?

02 Payment Revolution Symphony

In 1958, Bank of America ushered in the era of credit cards.

In early 1966, Bank of America announced the credit card authorization program, and the credit card business began to grow explosively.

However, at that time, credit cards did not have magnetic stripes, and merchants did not have electronic card readers. All settlement processes relied on paper checks, phone calls, punching, and other primitive actions. The massive number of users made the credit card center almost unable to cope, and banks, merchants, and users were all suffering.

What's more troublesome is that when there are discounts at merchants and exchange rates fluctuate, a small credit card transaction can bring huge troubles such as issuing, settling, and reconciling. Improper competition between banks, information delays, and loopholes in some rules can also bring system risks, and fraudulent activities begin to spread...

In 1968, credit card losses exceeded tens of millions of dollars.

Hawke became one of the members to solve this problem. Hawke, who had suffered from the system for more than a decade, was deeply disgusted with the administrative management system. As he had envisioned, only by breaking the authority of banks that stood between users and merchants, and breaking the "control-oriented" order, could these problems be solved.

Hawk proposed to establish a non-stock company owned by member banks, bringing together these competitive banks to weave a unprecedented payment network 'disruptive dream'.

Persuading 200 licensed banks and thousands of employees to join this organization is not easy, especially since his proposal was met with strong opposition from the entire audience. But as a skilled debater, Hawk persisted.

"Credit cards are just bank jargon, they happen to appear in the form of cards, but they have nothing to do with currency. The monopoly of traditional banks and the state's control of currency will be broken," Hawk's vision is extremely far-sighted, "What we are really engaged in is the business of exchanging the value of money."

He demonstrated how the current system is heading towards collapse and proposed his own new idea - creating a natural system like an open, 'chaotic management order' (Chaordic Organization).

Hawk's envisioned organization is very transparent, with multiple institutions similar to the board of directors within their respective functional areas, with unchangeable authority and autonomy, but no organization dominates over other power structures. Like a carefully woven orchestra, it ensures that every voice is heard, but no single voice can dominate the entire movement.

In the new system, the organization is decentralized, autonomous, and thus becomes more flexible and adaptable. In this network, as long as the regulations are met, everyone can join and further expand the network.

All members, partners, and end customers provide and are served under common rules, and ultimately become a globally unified brand and payment system. It is like an ocean or an ecosystem, with strong self-regulation.

Today, those of us with internet thinking might not find this design particularly novel, but more than fifty years ago, in the absence of the internet, Hawk was definitely a forward-thinking explorer.

In 1970, after the electronic authorization system developed by Hawk ran for 90 days, everyone became willing to join. Hawk, who was elected president, sparked a major project that would have a global impact.

03 Csi Leading Technology Index

Hawk saved credit cards, turning them from a heavily loss-making division into a profitable one.

"The most important value exchange system in the world." This was the ambitious goal set by Hawk. How did he achieve all of this?

Supporting all of this is the technological strength of Visa.

Hawk firmly believed that technology could change the payment system. He had a clear vision of the potential of electronic payment systems. This drove Visa's transition to an electronic value exchange system.

Hawk established a set of operating procedures, which are the rules of the entire ecosystem. He defined the standards for card design and the use of logos in advertising. He also established how various members should work together and the consequences for members who violate the rules. Basic provisions that must be enforced in contracts signed with merchants.

Then, he began building his own technological infrastructure. In 1973, National BankAmericard Inc. (NBI) launched the first electronic authorization system, marking the birth of the Visa electronic authorization system. Subsequently, this system underwent years of development and improvement, becoming the key technology that supports Visa's global transactions.

Data is the blood of Visa, and the nervous system of technology ensures the fast and accurate flow of information. They establish some rules for the system, ensuring its operation like the laws of nature.

The electronic authorization system ensures real-time processing of electronic authorizations, ensuring smooth payment. Visa has built a global network, adopting advanced encryption technology and security measures to protect data security, analyze transactions in real-time to reduce fraud risk, integrate with POS terminals to simplify the payment process, allowing sellers to recognize buyers and buyers to recognize sellers, becoming a global payment tool beyond language, laws, currency, customs, or culture.

Visa not only expanded its influence through sponsoring Olympic events, but also gained more users through TV advertising. It quickly surpassed American Express and Mastercard with an initial 20% market share, becoming the world's number one credit card brand.

In 1976, Bank Americard officially changed its name to Visa, marking the beginning of its international journey.

In 1983, Visa launched a global ATM network, allowing cardholders to withdraw cash anytime, anywhere around the world. With the introduction of this service, Visa's international payment status instantly solidified.

In 1984, at the peak of Visa's success, Hock put his business suit in the closet, traveled to the remote wilderness, and drove a tracked tractor to start a 10-year farmer's life, returning to his true nature.

In 1994, he returned to the public eye, conducting a series of academic discussions on his mixed organization. On July 16, 2022, Hock passed away at the age of 93 at his home in Washington State.

Following Hawk's clear system thinking and technical thinking, after Hawk left, every step of Visa has been solid.

In 1986, Visa developed a clearing and settlement system that supports 21 currencies, and its technological advantages allowed it to break through again.

In 2008, with the popularization of smart phones, Visa launched its mobile payment platform, fully opening up its strategic layout in the field of mobile payments. In 2014, the Visa Checkout service further simplified the online payment process and enhanced the consumer experience.

Although it has more than 3 billion credit cards, tens of thousands of banks, millions of commercial institutions, and billions of users worldwide, Visa always stays at the forefront of technology. Visa's advanced authorization system processes over 0.065 million transactions per second and prevents over $25 billion in fraud each year, demonstrating its data-driven and technological capabilities.

All of this would not be possible without Hawk's chaotic and orderly ecosystem, as well as the cutting-edge positioning of technology companies, allowing Visa to continue to grow and evolve like nature itself.

Of course, Visa is not without its challenges. Emerging payment methods such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay, as well as the development of blockchain technology and digital currencies, have the potential to reshape the payment industry landscape.

With the development of blockchain technology, Visa is exploring cryptocurrency payment solutions to meet the growing market demand for digital currencies. The future of Visa still requires continuous innovation and adaptation to maintain its leading position in the global payment industry.

Editor/Somer