Visa vs Mastercard vs American Express — the Networks Battle Continues

Visa vs Mastercard vs American Express 👇

The card networks — Visa , Mastercard , and American Express are the biggest players in the global payments landscape, but they operate differently.

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬:

► 4-𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 ( Visa , Mastercard , GIE Cartes Bancaires )

This model involves consumers, issuers, merchants, & acquirers. Merchants interact with their customers and acquirers, while card networks serve as intermediaries.

► 3-𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 ( American Express , Discover Financial Services )

In this model, one entity acts as the issuer, acquirer, & network. Merchants now pay a single fee, often higher compared to the 4-party model.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞 (4-Party vs 3-Party Model)

👉 4-𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥

► The Issuing Bank, Issuer, issues a debit/credit cards to its customer.

► The cardholder wants to buy a product and swipes the credit card at the Point of Sale (POS) terminal

► The POS terminal sends the transaction to the Acquirer that provided the terminal (a token is shared)

► The Acquirer sends the transaction to the card network who sends the transaction to the Issuer for approval

► The Issuer freezes the money if the transaction is approved. The approval or rejection is sent back to the acquirer, and POS. Funds are then transferred.

👉 3-𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 — The first 3 steps are the same… but not step 4

► American Express Business and Discover Financial Services perform here the function of Acquirer, Issuer and Card Network. This is so called closed loop networks are more efficient with all functions processed in one place

► In recent years the closed loop networks have partnered with issuers and acquirers to scale their circulations

► The approval or rejection is sent back to the acquirer, then to the POS terminal. The funds are then transferred

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬:

► In 2023, U.S. merchants paid ~$224B in fees for accepting card payments (interchange, network, and processor fees combined).

► U.S. merchants would have saved $49B in 2023 if fees had remained at 2009 levels.

► In Europe, 45% of the Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) are attributable to interchange fees

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬:

► Visa & Mastercard are payment networks, not issuers. They partner with banks and financial institutions to offer credit, debit, and prepaid cards.

► Both are widely accepted in over 200 countries. The main difference lies in their rewards and offers (depending on issuer).

► American Express is both a card issuer and a payment network. This gives AMEX more control over customer service and rewards programs, often making it a premium choice

► While AMEX is accepted in fewer locations than Visa and Mastercard, it offers exclusive perks for its users.

Source: CMSPI - https://lnkd.in/gCA_GueQ

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► Connecting the dots in payments... & Marcel van Oost