Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) has introduced the Visa Creator Program which is a one-year product strategy and mentorship program for entrepreneurs working in art, music, fashion, and film who are aiming to speed up their small business through non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. Visa has confirmed that the goal of the Creator Program is to combine a global unit of digital creators and empower them via education in blockchain technology and NFT commerce.

Visa made its first move into NFTs in August 2021, when it purchased a Crypto Punk NFT for around $150,000 in ETH. The purchase was timed to coincide with the start of the market's dramatic rise. Micah Johnson, the developer of the Aku World NFT community, is the program's first Visa Creator, as revealed in October 2021.

Johnson is a former professional baseball player who retired in 2018 due to multiple injuries and went on to pursue a career as a visual artist. Aku, the first NFT art piece to digitally go to the International Space Station, is a young Black astronaut who has grown to ink his film and TV deal. Johnson's art had sold for a total of 6,178 ETH, or nearly $20.9 million. He is one of the first class of content creators and gig economy employees who is already using NFTs.

Furthermore, through a program selected creators will be able to tap into Visa's technical expertise in the NFT space, as well as receive an unrevealed one-time stipend, visibility to other evolving NFT creators, and exposure to multinational company partners and clients. According to Sheffield, the company will not receive any direct financial benefits from the program, but it will be able to utilize it to learn how to improve NFT commerce and assist clients in navigating the new technology.