Is MasterCard losing ground to VISA?
 

After reading this thread, I began to think of some of the good reward cards out there, and realized Visa has more than MC. The only good MC I can think of are by Barclays - VS, US, LH and the Arrivals.

The VS Mastercard is issued by BofA.

I'm in the industry. Nope MC is doing great

Financially maybe, but in terms of product offerings?

V is just a bigger card issuer, isn't it? But MA has more room for growth.

There are several other strong MasterCard products: Citi Prestige, Citi Executive AAdvantage, Diners Club, HSBC Premier.

Barclays also offers the SallieMae MasterCard which has 5% cash back at gas stations (up to $250 per month), 5% back at grocery stores (up to $250 per month), and 5% back at bookstores including Amazon (up to $750 per month).

(I recently came to appreciate that card even more when I recently realized it was a way to get the absolute best gas price in town. Sam's Club and Costco usually have the lowest gas price in town. Sam's Club accepts MasterCard and their gas station's merchant category code is that of a gas station. So with the SallieMae MasterCard you get another 5% cash back off the lowest gas price in town. Pretty sweet deal.)

I think some of this came from the fact that Chase is going Visa exclusive in 2014. The thing is that they were already very Visa heavy for a long time...you pretty much had to go out of your way to ask for a Mastercard product for some of their popular cards like Freedom, Sapphire and Slate. I have a Freedom Mastercard and that's only because my wife began with a Slate Mastercard she's had for 15 years that we product converted last year. Since Chase is one of the most popular lenders with the online community, them ending the relationship with Mastercard looks bigger than the facts on the ground.

I think in some countries they are losing market share but not massively. I know here in the UK, a few issuers are now issuing American Express networked cards when they were previously MasterCards. Some issuers like Capital One stopped issuing Visa cards though and now only offer MasterCard, so its swings and roundabouts really.

Something MasterCard messed up on though was Debit cards. Most debits cards are either Visa and the ones that are MasterCard (Or Maestro) are often processed on a local debit network in the country of issue and actually only use MasterCard outside of the country.

I think it depends if you're just seeing the US market alone compared to viewing things with the US as well as the rest of the world.

MC is quite strong outside the US, especially in Europe with huge growth in Japan and Asia.

Agreed. Also just because MasterCard may be losing ground doesn't mean it is losing it to Visa. American Express and some of the more localised cards (Like JCB) have seen quite a lot of growth worldwide.

The recently launched quicksilver is with Visa, although the QuicksilverOne for those with avg credit is with MC.

Interesting, I didn't know this was happening. I wonder what will happen with the Ink cards?

Also, I wonder if it would be beneficial to do a product change with my Freedom/CSP from visa to mc in hopes of being eligible for another sign up bonus in 2-5 years. :confused:

Is DC still around? the others seem to be expensive.

Yes, but they do not accept applications for new consumer accounts (in Canada or USA).

I've seen a lots of MasterCard MasterPass advertisements on Hulu Plus recently.

It's my understanding from others around here that Chase isn't allowing any new Mastercards and will be transitioning all Chase-branded Mastercards to Visa in early 2014.

Also, Discover is "linked" to DC in many countries (not U.S.). Used Discover at places posting DC many times in Brazil. (You do have to call Discover first to get an 'OK to use" in a specific country).

The Diners Club network doesn't really seem to exist anymore, it just seems to be a brand name. When I use my UK Diners Club here in the UK the receipt will normally say "Discover" and occasionally "Diners/Discover". The Discover logo is normally the logo shown on doors as well (Often with the Diners Club logo next to it though).

Define "losing ground". You seem to be looking solely at popular rewards cards. There are way more credit cards issued in the US than are not talked about on FT (because they don't earn anything that anyone on FT is interested in) than that do get talked about on FT.

So if you mean "losing ground" on FT, perhaps. If you mean "losing ground" as in their overall business model, the discussions on FT about "hot" rewards cards and which networks those are on is close to irrelevant.

...and honestly losing ground on FT might be a good thing from a financial perspective

is there a reason to use MasterPass app? Paypal offers discounts via it's app....

While preparing for a trip to London and Dublin, I realized that every card I intended to take is a MasterCard. In the end I decided to also take the Chase BA VISA only because it had been used to pay for ballet tickets.

To me, VISA vs MC is just as same as Coca Cola vs Pepsi. They pretty much offer the same exact thing and all it comes down to is personal choice.

If you're agnostic, you're also free to say no thanks to both and go with Dr. Pepper! :D

In the USA we have this impression because the banks which owned MasterCard and VISA for several decades operated an illegal duopoly. Now that this has ended they compete with each other, banks are free to also offer Amex-network or Discover-network cards, and we are beginning to see some product differentiation between MasterCard and VISA as they look for ways to retain (VISA) or gain (MasterCard) market share and revenue.

I am not reporting that I chose cards because they are MasterCard, but rather the cards I chose based on benefits and features increasingly are MasterCards. We still put a fair amount of spend on VISA cards, but most of it is internet purchases or recurring charges, and the physical cards seldom make their way out of the safe.

I don't recall hearing even anecdotal reports of a transaction where one card was okay, but the other type was specifically not allowed (Visa or MasterCard only - NOT both).

MC is gaining market share in terms of total cards, and spend vs. V. Not just in the US, but also globally. While V is still larger, MC is gaining ground

For example, Costco Canada will be moving to MasterCard only, no Visa, no AMEX. There are other merchants which only accept one and not the other, but this is the largest example. Also, when travelling, I've been places where only MC is accepted and not Visa. Not as common in the US, but it does happen.

Sam's Club is MC only. The Olympics are Visa only (according to commercials). In Brazil I found lots of places that accepted only Visa (or sometimes only Visa debit).

I can think of a couple of locations in South America. I've also been to places in the US (restaurants) that have only taken Amex.

Florida Power and Light, which accepts credit card payments through Western Union Speedpay, accepts American Express, Discover and MasterCard, but not VISA.

Also, see recent discussion here, at post 343, mentioning an educational institution which accepts MasterCard, but not VISA:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/23561246-post343.html

I think for the most part, at least in the US, it's the acquirers and processors that have set it up that way, sort of a like a "bundled package" (similar to how cable company offer cable TV + internet for $X per month) deal for small to medium sized retailers and businesses.

i.e.: They offer a "VISA and MC" package, while AMEX and Discover are extra features.

Larger retailers like Sam's Club or Costco can leverage their own exclusive deals directly with MC or AMEX.

I wonder if there's ever going to be a US bank that issues UnionPay debit cards. There's not really a need for it though due to Discover working on UP's network and vice versa, but it's interesting to consider.

UnionPay is trying to break into the US market but hasn't managed much yet

OTOH, there is JCB operating in the US as a credit card, is able to run on the Discover network and vice versa and has been here in the US for several years, although cardholder applicants are limited to certain states.

JCB in the US doesn't necessarily partner with a bank though. It operates more like the old AMEX that it acts as its own issuer and network with co-branded partnerships like Mitsuwa and Marukai supermarkets.

They could go that route. I'm sure Union Pay can go a similar route like JCB where they become their own issuer and network in the US, in a limited area and partner with 99 Ranch Market or so.