Visa Europe - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011		Sep. 30, 2010		Sep. 30, 2009
Visa Europe
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Put option agreement	The Company granted Visa Europe a perpetual put option, which if exercised, will require Visa Inc. to purchase all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Visa Europe from its members. The Company is required to purchase the shares of Visa Europe no later than 285 days after exercise of the put option. The put option provides a formula for determining the purchase price of the Visa Europe shares, which, subject to certain adjustments, applies Visa Inc.’s forward price-to-earnings multiple, or the P/E ratio (as defined in the option agreement), at the time the option is exercised to Visa Europe’s adjusted sustainable income for the forward 12-month period (as defined in the option agreement), or the adjusted sustainable income. The calculation of Visa Europe’s adjusted sustainable income under the terms of the put option agreement includes potentially material adjustments for cost synergies and other negotiated items.
Maximum number of days within which the Company is required to purchase the shares of Visa Europe after exercise of the put option	285 days
Probability of exercise by Visa Europe	40.00%		40.00%		40.00%
P/E differential at the time of exercise	1.9x		3.5x		5.3x
License fee (per year payable quarterly except for year ended September 30, 2008)	$ 143		$ 143		$ 143
Visa Europe | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Put option, fair value	145		267		346
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Put option, fair value	$ 145	[1]	$ 267	[1]

[1] The put option is exercisable at any time at the sole discretion of Visa Europe with payment required 285 days thereafter. Classification in current liabilities is not an indication of management's expectation of exercise and simply reflects the fact that the obligation resulting from the exercise of the instrument could become payable within 12 months.