Difference between Visa and Mastercard
Credit cards have made life so much easier and made getting a line of credit attainable for the masses. Today many people depend on them in order to make living easier. The industry is huge when it comes to finance and choosing the best option for yourself which assured you quality, security and reliability is the one that is the considered the best.
When it comes to talking about these three factors and credit cards, two of the most popular names are never forgotten. Visa and MasterCard are the leaders of their own industry today and both of them run a long similar lies. There is not much difference found between these two leading names as they are welcomed and accepted all over the world, in more than 100 countries and can be found to be purchased at almost any country possible. The number of consumers is not different in any manner when it comes to these recognized names.
What They Are
VISA and MasterCard are two of the leading companies that offer payment processing services to a global clientele. Foremost of the companies’ products are the credit cards that bear their respective names, although they do offer a number of other products and services as well. The acronym for the VISA company stands for Visa International Service Association.
Market Acceptability
VISA claims that it has issued more than a billion cards of some sort during its entire existence, which is a pretty impressive figure to be sure. MasterCard for its part is issued by as many as twenty five thousand banks all over the world, and you could hardly find a place in the world where they are not honored. Of course you could say the same for VISA, and in fact, any place that accepts MasterCard is almost certainly willing to take VISA as well. All told, there are probably well over twenty million establishments all over the world in one hundred fifty different countries that accept VISA and/or MasterCard.
The Numbers
MasterCard has a calculated number of more than twenty five thousand branches and banks that give away their cards whereas Visa claims that it has more than a billion cards in use. It is claimed that it is not an easy task to calculate the number of cards that MasterCard’s is giving away but the estimated count peaks more that twenty million. Both companies are reliable and therefore the reputation is at the top of the charts as well which makes people believe in their authenticity.
Methodology
These cards are just ways of making payments that actually depend on the banks that are situated in different countries to give out their cards and make use of these methods of payments. It is because of this reason that the yearly fees, interest percentage and award charges are made by the bank and the money that you pay later on is given to the bank, not either of these companies.
In Practice
VISA and MasterCard both have a similar selection of credit cards and debit cards, all of which are issued by various financial institutions. Most of the establishments that fund these cards are banks. More important than the brand of the card therefore is the reputation of the bank or the financial institution behind it. In addition, both cards also entail interest rates, annual fees and on the plus side, rewards, all of which should be taken into consideration when making your choice of credit card or debit card.
How they Make Money
The last statement may confuse a person as the question rises that if the payment is made to the banks, what is the role of Visa and MasterCard? The answer is such that these companies take money from the retailer for using their services. To be on the safer side, if you want to issue 2 credit cards purchasing from both these companies, one of each will be the sensible choice because if a crisis arises in one company the other one will always be available to use.
Summary
Visa
- Stands for Visa International Service Association
- Offers a line of credit and debit cards
- Is under the ownership of financial institutions that issue cards under the VISA name
- Claims to have issued almost a billion cards
- Widely accepted in more than one hundred and fifty countries all over the world
Mastercard
- A payment processing institution owned by many of the same financial institutions that issue VISA credit and debit cards
- Also offers a line of credit and debit cards
- Issued by more than twenty five thousand banks
- Accepted all over the world as well
- Accepted virtually anywhere VISA is accepted
