INDEX / DIRECTORY / VISA / V-MIL

Visa V-MIL

MILITARY AUDIT UPDATED 2026-06-11
V-MIL Score 0.00 /10 E Visa — BDS-1000 191
V-MIL 0.00

Evidence-only forensic audit. Scoring happens downstream — see the main dossier for the composite assessment.

V-MIL Audit: Visa

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

No evidence has been identified of Visa holding prime or subcontract defence contracts with the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD), Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Shin Bet, Mossad, or Israel Border Police 1. Visa does not appear in USASpending.gov or FPDS defence-specific procurement records as a defence contractor; commercial card programmes such as GSA SmartPay involve payment network routing rather than defence procurement. Visa is not listed in Israeli SIBAT defence export directories as a defence sector supplier.

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

No evidence has been identified of Visa manufacturing, exporting, or licensing hardware or software appearing on the US Commerce Control List or United States Munitions List 1. Visa’s core products — network switching, tokenisation, fraud-scoring algorithms, and data analytics — are commercial fintech services with no identified tactical or military-specific variants. No export licence applications, end-user certificates, or government export control rulings related to Visa products for Israeli military end-users have been identified in public records.

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

Visa does not manufacture, sell, lease, or operate heavy machinery, construction equipment, or physical infrastructure. Visa is not listed in the UN OHCHR database of business enterprises involved in settlement activity (158 companies listed as of September 2025) 2. The Albanese report (A/HRC/59/23) addressing civilian heavy machinery does not name Visa 34.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

No evidence has been identified of Visa holding subcontractor, teaming partner, or direct supply relationships with Israeli defence primes including Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, or IMI Systems 567. Major institutional shareholders (Vanguard, BlackRock) hold small passive index-fund positions in Elbit Systems through broad market ETFs; this indirect passive ownership does not constitute a purposive financing relationship 8. No evidence has been identified of Visa providing components, sub-systems, or specialist manufacturing services to Israeli defence manufacturers.

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

No evidence has been identified of Visa holding contracts to provide catering, transport, fuel supply, waste management, facilities maintenance, telecommunications, or other support services to military installations. Visa’s payment infrastructure is accepted at on-base retail facilities (exchanges, commissaries) as a routine commercial matter; acceptance does not constitute a logistics or base-services contract.

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

No evidence has been identified of Visa’s involvement in the design, manufacture, integration, maintenance, or financing of munitions, weapons systems, missile programmes, naval platforms, armoured vehicles, or strategic military platforms. The Albanese report addressing weapons systems and munitions does not name Visa 34.

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

No publicly known government decisions to grant, deny, suspend, or revoke export licences for Visa products to Israeli military or security end-users have been identified. No investigations, citations, or enforcement actions related to Visa’s compliance with arms embargoes or export control regimes affecting defence trade with Israel have been identified. No court proceedings, judicial reviews, or legal challenges specifically alleging Visa’s defence supply relationship with Israel have been identified in BankTrack’s closed complaints database or OECD Watch complaints 910.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

Visa is not named in the UN OHCHR settlement database 2. Visa is not named in the UN A/HRC/59/23 (Albanese) report’s list of approximately 48 companies — the report does not identify Visa in any of its sections addressing military technology, surveillance and carcerality, or civilian heavy machinery 34. Visa is not named in the PAX “Companies Arming Israel and Their Financiers” report (June 2024) 5. Visa is not named in Who Profits Research Center database 6. Visa is not named in AFSC Investigate database 7. Visa is not named in Al-Haq “Business and Human Rights in the OPT” report (July 2024) 11. Visa is not named in Don’t Buy Into Occupation coalition reports (104 companies listed) 12. No OECD National Contact Point complaints specifically targeting Visa regarding Israel/OPT activities have been identified 10. No organised BDS or divestment campaign specifically targeting Visa on military supply or defence-sector financing grounds has been identified 13.

Visa’s Israeli-licensed issuers (Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Israel Discount Bank, Mizrahi-Tefahot) are commercial banks that provide services to settlements and are themselves listed in the UN OHCHR database 1415. Israeli banks issue Visa-branded cards accepted at point-of-sale terminals throughout Israel, including in settlement areas — this reflects the geographic reach of Israeli bank-issuer networks rather than a specific Visa contractual decision. No evidence has been identified of Visa holding specific contracts, service agreements, or dedicated network arrangements with settlement municipalities or settlement-based businesses.

No public statement by Visa acknowledging the ICJ Advisory Opinion (19 July 2024), committing to a policy review, or announcing operational changes in response to it has been identified. No public statement by Visa regarding the ICC arrest warrants (21 November 2024) for Israeli officials has been identified. No shareholder resolutions specifically directed at Visa’s Israel operations have been identified in publicly available proxy records for 2024 or 2025 annual meetings.

Visa operates an Innovation Studio in Tel Aviv (22 Rothschild Boulevard) as a co-working space for Israeli fintech startups, operational since 2018 16. This is a partnership hub, not a registered corporate subsidiary. Visa operates in Israel through licensing agreements with Israeli banks rather than through a direct corporate entity.

No publicly documented defence-industry directorships, Israeli defence-prime equity holdings, FIDF fundraising leadership, or public co-belligerency statements have been identified for Visa CEO Ryan McInerney, Executive Chairman Alfred F. Kelly Jr., or named board members. Visa is not listed as a FIDF corporate matching gift program partner; FIDF partners include BlackRock, Vanguard, Bank of America, Northrop Grumman, Honeywell, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Starbucks, and McDonald’s 17.

No public evidence identified.

End Notes

Footnotes

  1. https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001403161&type=10-K&dateb=&owner=include&count=10 ↩ ↩2

  2. https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/regular-sessions/session31/database-hrc3136 ↩ ↩2

  3. https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g25/117/47/pdf/g2511747.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/1/un-report-lists-companies-complicit-in-israels-genocide-who-are-they ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. https://paxforpeace.nl/publications/the-companies-arming-israel-and-their-financiers ↩ ↩2

  6. https://www.whoprofits.org ↩ ↩2

  7. https://investigate.afsc.org/occupations ↩ ↩2

  8. https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/profile?s=ESLT%3ATLV ↩

  9. https://www.banktrack.org/campaign/overview_closed_complaints_on_banks ↩

  10. https://www.oecdwatch.org/complaints-database ↩ ↩2

  11. https://www.alhaq.org/publications/17844.html ↩

  12. https://www.alhaq.org/publications/26931.html ↩

  13. https://bdsmovement.net/Get-involved-divestment ↩

  14. https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/28/israeli-banks-profit-settlements ↩

  15. https://www.banktrack.org/download/3efc84b ↩

  16. https://www.visa.co.il/visa-everywhere/innovation-centers/tel-aviv.html ↩

  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends_of_the_Israel_Defense_Forces ↩