Visa CEO steps down, former AmEx exec is named successor

Visa says CEO Charlie Scharf is resigning in December after four years leading the company. He says that running a company based in San Francisco is difficult for his personal life. He and his family are based on the East Coast.

Visa Inc. on Monday named current board member Alfred Kelly Jr. as its president and CEO. He is the former president of American Express Co.

Kelly will join Visa on Oct. 31, and Scharf will advise him for several months.

In June Visa completed the purchase of its sister company, Visa Europe, in a deal worth over $23 billion, consolidating Visa's position as the world's largest payment processing company.

Visa shares closed down 30 cents at $82.15. The stock dipped 1.4 percent in after-hours trading.