Welcome back! Visa brings flagship global conference back to San Francisco from Texas
Adds to the growing list of companies relocating or returning to the Golden State
What you need to know: Visa will bring its flagship global payments conference back to San Francisco starting in 2026, marking a major vote of confidence in the city’s recovery and California’s innovation economy.
SAN FRANCISCO — Governor Gavin Newsom today highlighted Visa’s announcement that its annual Visa Payments Forum is returning to San Francisco’s Moscone Center, with a multi-year commitment from 2026 through 2030.
The 2026 conference will coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Visa Payments Forum and is projected to be the largest in the event’s history, drawing more than 3,000 attendees and expanding its reach to include clients from across the Asia-Pacific and Europe.
“California’s status as the world’s innovation capital is a point of pride for our state. California is the birthplace of many of our nation’s most celebrated companies, including Visa. When companies like Visa double down on California, it means more jobs, more tourism and more momentum for our world-leading economy.” Governor Gavin Newsom
The decision follows Visa’s one-off San Francisco forum in 2024, which celebrated the opening of the company’s new global headquarters in the city’s Mission Rock neighborhood. While the conference was briefly held in Dallas in 2025, Visa cited its deep California roots, San Francisco’s innovation ecosystem and strong economic vitality — including a sustained increase in downtown in-person spending in 2025 — as reasons for its long-term return to its hometown.
Visa is not the only business that has recently announced a move to the Golden State. Late last year, clothing manufacturer Dickies announced that after more than 100 years in Fort Worth, Texas, the company was moving its headquarters to Southern California. Around the same time, industrial AI company Avathon relocated its headquarters from Austin, Texas, to Silicon Valley. Just this spring, Heart Aerospace announced its move from Sweden to Los Angeles to strengthen the company’s product development.
These businesses are in good company. California is home to the most Fortune 500 companies in the nation — beating out all other states, including Texas and Florida. California is home to 1.7 million private sector businesses that account for nearly 87% of California’s jobs.
California’s Economic Strength
California is not only sustaining our national economy — it is driving the future. With the world’s fourth-largest economy, an increasing state population and record-high tourism spending, California is the nation’s top state for new business starts, access to venture capital funding, and manufacturing, high-tech and agriculture.
