Reinsurance Arrangements and Guarantees - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended				96 Months Ended			96 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			96 Months Ended	24 Months Ended	96 Months Ended		12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended														1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012 Contingent Consideration	Dec. 31, 2011 Contingent Consideration	Dec. 31, 2012 Ginnie Mae	Dec. 31, 2012 Non Government Sponsored Agency [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Non Government Sponsored Agency [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Non Government Sponsored Agency [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Non Government Sponsored Agency [Member]	Dec. 31, 2005 Freddie Mac [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 US Government Sponsored Agency [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 US Government Sponsored Agency [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Mortgage Reinsurance Contracts	Dec. 31, 2011 Mortgage Reinsurance Contracts	Dec. 31, 2010 Mortgage Reinsurance Contracts	Dec. 31, 2012 Mortgage Reinsurance Contracts Upper Limit	Dec. 31, 2012 Standby Letters of Credit	Dec. 31, 2011 Standby Letters of Credit	Dec. 31, 2012 Mortgage Servicing Rights [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Mortgage Servicing Rights [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Visa Interest	Dec. 31, 2011 Visa Interest	Dec. 31, 2010 Visa Interest	May 31, 2009 Visa Interest	Dec. 31, 2012 Tax Credit Sales [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Tax Credit Sales [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Derivative Financial Instruments, Liabilities [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Derivative Financial Instruments, Liabilities [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Not Designated as Hedging Instrument [Member] Derivative Financial Instruments, Liabilities [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Not Designated as Hedging Instrument [Member] Derivative Financial Instruments, Liabilities [Member]		May 31, 2009 Not Designated as Hedging Instrument [Member] Derivative Financial Instruments, Liabilities [Member] Visa Interest	Dec. 31, 2012 Nonperforming Financing Receivable [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Nonperforming Financing Receivable [Member]
Mortgage loans were covered by such mortgage reinsurance contracts																$ 5,200,000,000	$ 8,000,000,000
Total loss exposure ceded to the Company																179,000,000	309,000,000
Maximum amount of loss exposure based on funds held in each seperate trust account, including net premiums due to the trust accounts																6,000,000
Valuation Allowances and Reserves, Balance																3,000,000	38,000,000
Future reported losses																			3,000,000
Future cash losses																			3,000,000
Premium income, mortgage reinsurance																11,000,000	26,000,000	38,000,000
Provision For Losses, Mortgage Reinsurance																11,000,000	28,000,000	27,000,000
Maximum potential amount obligation																				4,000,000,000	5,200,000,000							37,000,000
Loans sold from January 1, 2005 to September 30, 2011					270,000,000,000			31,000,000,000				30,200,000,000		208,800,000,000
Loans Sold Repurchased Request Amount	1,700,000,000	1,700,000,000	1,100,000,000		7,100,000,000				22,000,000	50,000,000	55,000,000
Percent of Loans Sold To Oustide Investors													15.00%
Unpaid principal balance of loans related to unresolved requests previously received from investors	655,000,000	590,000,000			655,000,000				16,000,000	12,000,000		16,000,000		639,000,000	578,000,000
Reserve For Mortgage Loan Repurchase Losses	632,000,000	320,000,000	265,000,000	200,000,000	632,000,000
Repurchased or otherwise settled mortgages	769,000,000	789,000,000
Repurchased mortgage loans	240,000,000	252,000,000			240,000,000																																		41,000,000	134,000,000
Loss Contingency Accrual, at Carrying Value						30,000,000	10,000,000															12,000,000	8,000,000
Amount funded by Visa into an escrow account to fund judgments and settlements relating to litigation																								8,200,000,000
Third Party Escrow, Amount Paid From Escrow																								4,100,000,000
Shares of Class B Visa Inc. common stock sold to another financial institution, shares																																						3.2
Shares of Class B Visa Inc. common stock sold to another financial institution, value				112,000,000
Shares of Class B Visa Inc. common stock sold to another financial institution, recognized a gain				112,000,000
Common stock conversion rate																								0.4206			0.6296
Payments to derivative counterparty																								26,000,000	8,000,000	17,000,000
Derivative liability positions, fair value																								1,000,000	22,000,000					7,514,000,000	[1]	7,499,000,000	[2]	7,514,000,000	[1],[3]	7,309,000,000	[2],[3]
Visa Share of Claims in Settlement Agreement Amount																								4,400,000,000
Third Party litigation claims paid from escrow																								300,000,000
Third Party litigation due on settlement, paid from escrow																								4,100,000,000
Tax Credits To Be Delivered																												$ 3,000,000	$ 5,000,000

[1] The Company offsets cash collateral paid to and received from derivative counterparties when the derivative contracts are subject to ISDA master netting arrangements and meet the derivative offsetting requirements. The effects of offsetting on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2012, are presented in Note 18, "Fair Value Election and Measurement." In some situations, trading derivatives are offset with derivatives used for risk management purposes that are recorded in other assets or other liabilities. As a result, the Company may reclass balances between trading assets or liabilities and other assets or other liabilities based on the predominant account.

[2] The Company offsets cash collateral paid to and received from derivative counterparties when the derivative contracts are subject to ISDA master netting arrangements and meet the derivative offsetting requirements. The effects of offsetting on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2011, are presented in Note 18, "Fair Value Election and Measurement."

[3] See “Economic Hedging and Trading Activities” in this Note for further discussion.