Visa Expands Global Technology Research; Hires Senior Scientist to Lead Visa Research Labs

April 30, 2015 at 8:00 AM EDT

Visa Research Labs, Visa’s expanded technology research division, will be led by Min Wang, former senior scientist and researcher at Google, HP Labs China and the IBM Watson Research Center.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 30, 2015-- Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) today announced it is expanding its technology research capabilities globally and appointing Min Wang to Senior Vice President of Visa Research Labs. Min will report directly to Rajat Taneja, Executive Vice President of Technology, Visa Inc.

Visa Research Labs will expand Visa’s research and development capabilities globally. Building on existing technology research and incubator efforts, Visa Research Labs will focus on applied science and deep research. The new function will engage with academics, global think tanks, governments and security experts on emerging technologies that are critical to the payments industry.

“Digital commerce is rapidly evolving due to the introduction of new technologies. As the world becomes more connected, every device, car, or appliance becomes a place where secure digital commerce can take place,” said Rajat Taneja, Executive Vice President, Technology, Visa Inc. “I am excited to expand our technology research efforts and have Min lead Visa Research Labs. This effort has the potential to shape the way we pay and get paid in the future, and transform the lives of millions of unbanked consumers by finally providing them with access to secure digital commerce.”

Wang is a leading and renowned technology research scientist and holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from Duke University, and a M.S. and B.S. in Computer Science from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. She joins Visa from Google Research where she was a Senior Staff Research Scientist focused on data mining. She also held senior staff research roles at HP Labs China and at the Unified Data Analytics Department at the IBM Watson Research Center.

Visa’s expansion of technology research is part of a global strategy to increase its technology footprint and establish technology and innovation centers in key markets. The company has also recently launched a global recruitment program to attract tech talent to Visa and plans to create an additional 2,000 full-time technologist positions.

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 56,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.

Source: Visa Inc.

Visa Inc.
Elvira Swanson, 415-805-4760
elswanso@visa.com