Posted by: John S Kiernan

Visa and Mastercard are the largest card networks in the world. That means they dictate where credit cards and debit cards can be used as well as what secondary perks they provide.

Both Visa and accepted in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Both provide $0 fraud liability guarantees, plus comparable rental car insurance and extended warranty coverage. And neither Visa nor Mastercard actually issues credit cards, unlike the two other leading card networks: American Express and Discover.

That’s why you should only worry about whether to get a Visa or Mastercard credit card if you’re torn between two offers. In other words, if two cards are identical in terms of rewards, rates and fees, then it’s appropriate to weigh the small differences that do exist between Mastercard and Visa.

For more information about how Visa and Mastercard stack up against one another, consult the table below. Make sure to also check out our editor’s picks for the best Visa and Mastercard credit cards. Some of the cards listed on this page originate from WalletHub’s partners, but that did not impact our conclusions. Offers are accurate as of June 11, 2018 and many are likely to have changed since.

 

1. Visa vs. Mastercard: Main Differences?
2. Best Visa & Mastercard Credit Cards
3. Visa vs. Mastercard Benefits
4. Visa & Mastercard Statistics
5. Ask The Experts: Visa vs. Mastercard

Visa vs. Mastercard: Main Differences?

Feature	Visa	Mastercard	Winner
Domestic Acceptance	10.7 million locations	10.7 million locations	Tie
International Acceptance	200+ countries and territories	210+ countries and territories	Mastercard
Cards in Circulation	838.3 million	388.4 million	Visa
Transactions	62.3 billion in 2016	25.4 billion in 2016	Visa
Average Purchase Amount	$57	$60	Mastercard
Fraud Liability	$0 liability for: - Credit card transactions - Signature debit card transactions - PIN debit card transactions processed by Visa* PIN debit transactions not processed by Visa receive no protections beyond those required by law.	$0 liability for:- Credit card transactions - Signature debit card transactions - PIN debit card transactions processed by Mastercard* PIN debit transactions not processed by Mastercard receive no additional fraud protections beyond federal law.	Tie
Credit Card Terms	Not a card issuer. Does not set APRs, fees, rewards, etc.	Not a card issuer. Does not set APRs, fees, rewards, etc.	Tie
Cash Advance Locations	2.3 million	2.1 million	Visa

*A debit card transaction in which a PIN is used receives no additional protections beyond what is required by federal law, unless it happens to be processed by the card network whose logo is on the card.

Best Visa & Mastercard Credit Cards

The following cards were selected by WalletHub's editors because they provide the most overall value for each segment of the market. Don’t see your favorite offer? Use the Community Discussion section below to tell us why you think it deserves inclusion.

Category	Best Visa Card	Best Mastercard	Compare	Winner
Initial Bonus	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Citi ThankYou® Premier Card	Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Citi ThankYou Premier	Visa
Travel Rewards	Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card	Citi ThankYou® Premier Card	Capital One Venture vs. Citi ThankYou Premier	Mastercard
Cash Back	Chase Freedom Unlimited®	Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer	Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ vs. Citi Double Cash	Mastercard
0% Purchases	U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card	Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever	U.S. Bank Visa Platinum vs. Citi Simplicity	Mastercard
0% Balance Transfers	Chase Slate®	Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card– 21 Month Balance Transfer Offer	Chase Slate vs. Citi Simplicity	Visa
Fair / Limited Credit	USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum®	Capital One® Platinum Credit Card	USAA Rate Advantage vs. Capital One® Platinum Credit Card	Mastercard
Bad Credit	Harley-Davidson® Secured Credit Card	Capital One® Secured Mastercard®	Harley-Davidson Secured vs. Capital One Secured	Mastercard
College Students	Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students	Journey® Student Rewards from Capital One®	Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students vs. Journey Student Rewards from Capital One	Mastercard
Small Business Owners	Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business	Business Advantage Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card	Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business vs. Cash Rewards for Business Mastercard® Credit Card	Visa
TOTALS	3 Category Wins	6 Category Wins	Visa credit cards vs. Mastercard credit cards	Mastercard

*Reflects ongoing rewards earnings of the average American, excluding any initial bonuses and fees.

Visa vs. Mastercard Benefits

There are three levels of Visa credit card benefits: Traditional, Signature and Infinite. Mastercard has three tiers of benefits, too. Some cards offer one level of benefits to all users. Others give better perks to people approved for a certain credit limit – $5,000+, for example.

Visa Traditional Benefits	Visa Signature Benefits	Visa Infinite Benefits	World Elite Mastercard Benefits	World Mastercard Benefits	Basic Mastercard Benefits
Zero Liability	Zero Liability	Zero Liability	Zero Liability	Zero Liability	Zero Liability
24/7 customer support for general inquiries	24/7 customer support for general inquiries	24/7 customer support for general inquiries	Identity Theft Protection (e.g. alerts for personal info found online)	Identity Theft Protection (e.g. alerts for personal info found online)	Identity Theft Protection (e.g. alerts for personal info found online)
Lost or stolen card reporting	Lost or stolen card reporting	Lost or stolen card reporting	Lost or stolen card reporting	Lost or stolen card reporting	Lost or stolen card reporting
Emergency card replacement	Emergency card replacement	Emergency card replacement	Emergency card replacement	Emergency card replacement	Emergency card replacement
Emergency cash disbursement	Emergency cash disbursement	Emergency cash disbursement	Emergency cash disbursement	Emergency cash disbursement	Emergency cash disbursement
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver	Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver	Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver	Fuel Rewards Network (earn discounts on gas at Shell)	Fuel Rewards Network (earn discounts on gas at Shell)	Fuel Rewards Network (earn discounts on gas at Shell)
Roadside Dispatch	Roadside Dispatch	Roadside Dispatch	Price Protection	Price Protection	Price Protection
	Extended Warranty	Extended Warranty	Extended Warranty	Extended Warranty	Extended Warranty
	Travel and Emergency Assistance Services	Travel and Emergency Assistance Services	24/7 Concierge	24/7 Concierge
	Year-end Summary	Year-end Summary	ShopRunner Membership	ShopRunner Membership
		Return Protection	Mastercard Lowest Hotel Rate Guarantee	Mastercard Lowest Hotel Rate Guarantee
		Purchase Protection	Mastercard luxury hotels and resorts portfolio (room upgrades & more)	Mastercard luxury hotels and resorts portfolio (room upgrades & more)
		Travel Accident Insurance	Onefinestay (high-end home rentals)	Onefinestay (high-end home rentals)
		Trip Cancellation/ Interruption Insurance	Mastercard Hotel Stay Guarantee	Mastercard Hotel Stay Guarantee
		Trip Delay Reimbursement	Freebies and exclusive experiences at select restaurants	Freebies and exclusive experiences at select restaurants
		Lost Luggage Reimbursement	Car, Air, Cruise and Vacation Packages	Car, Air, Cruise and Vacation Packages
			Mastercard Airport Concierge	Mastercard Airport Concierge
			Free travel-planning services	Free travel-planning services
			Exclusive experiences and discounts in Priceless Cities	Exclusive experiences and discounts in Priceless Cities
			VIP access to nightclubs	VIP access to nightclubs
			Priceless Golf experiences, offers and concierge	Priceless Golf experiences, offers and concierge
			Trip Cancellation Insurance

 

Many Visa and Mastercard benefits are offered at the discretion of individual credit card issuers. In other words, Visa and Mastercard make benefits available to card issuers and allow them to decide which to pass on to different groups of cardholders. To learn how individual cards rank for some of the most important perks, check out WalletHub’s credit card benefits reports: 

• Credit Cards with the Best Benefits
• Return Protection
• Rental Car Insurance
• Price Protection
• Extended Warranty
• Travel Insurance
• Purchase Protection
• International Travel Perks

 

Visa & Mastercard by the Numbers

Visa and Mastercard are both huge, multi-national corporations with thousands of employees, millions of customers and storied histories. Here are a few interesting facts and figures that will help you get to know them better.

Ask The Experts: Visa vs. Mastercard

For more insight on Visa and Mastercard’s market presence – including consumer perception, corporate fundamentals and future outlook – we turned to a panel of leading experts on investing and the payments market. You can check them and their answers out below.

1. Which company’s stock do you think is a better investment: Visa (V) or Mastercard (MA)? Would you buy either?
2. What do you make of the fact that many consumers think Visa or Mastercard is the issuer of their credit card, rather than its supporting network?
3. Do you expect Visa and Mastercard to have as dominant a position in the market 10 years from now?

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• Luke Stein Assistant Professor of Finance at Arizona State University, W. P. Carey School of Business
• Honghui Chen Associate Professor of Finance at University of Central Florida, College of Business Administration

Luke Stein Assistant Professor of Finance at Arizona State University, W. P. Carey School of Business What do you make of the fact that many consumers think Visa or MasterCard is the issuer of their credit card, rather than its supporting network? It makes sense that many consumers are confused; the network branding is right there on the card, and it’s on the door or window of shops, restaurants, and stores. Online payment forms often ask whether our card is a Visa, MasterCard, Amex, or Discover, but never ask whether it is from Citibank or Chase. Between issuer branding, card branding, network branding, and cobranding, messages get muddled. But even if consumers misperceive the network as the issuer, I suspect their loyalty is to the issuer, card, or cobranding partner. My guess is lots of people don’t know which of their cards are Visa and which are MasterCard, and don’t much care, since acceptance is effectively equivalent: everyplace that takes credit cards (except Costco, for now). Do you expect VISA and MasterCard to have as dominant a position in the market 10 years from now? It’s hard to predict the future. But it would also be hard to end Visa and MasterCard’s dominance over the next decade. A disrupter would need to win over cardholders, issuers, acquirers, and merchants. That’s a lot of chickens and eggs. And such disruption seems a tall order given the relationships, branding, software, hardware, and debt linked to the current regime. Of course, Amex, Discover, and foreign-based networks may win market share. Someone may finally make a splash with a mobile or contactless solution. But my guess is that Visa and MasterCard will be doing fine. Honghui Chen Associate Professor of Finance at University of Central Florida, College of Business Administration What do you make of the fact that many consumers think Visa or MasterCard is the issuer of their credit card, rather than its supporting network? This is not surprising since Visa and MasterCard serve a two-sided market with merchants and consumers with different value propositions to each side. Although they earn their revenue from merchants, Visa and MasterCard have focused heavy marketing efforts on the consumers (cardholders) to build brand recognition and consumer demand which in turn drives more merchants to accept the network. As a result of Visa and MasterCard’s advertising focus, customers are more likely to recognize card related benefits such as the security, rewards, and convenience tied to the credit card itself rather than the black box of actual payment processing. Do you expect VISA and MasterCard to have as dominant a position in the market 10 years from now? I expect Visa and MasterCard still to maintain a dominant position in the market, but I expect to see some erosion in their dominance 10 years from now. Payment processing is an incredibly challenging market to disrupt due to barriers including slow-moving regulatory environments, a consolidated issuer landscape which makes initial network startup costs prohibitively high, and mostly sticky consumers whose trust is hard to gain. In a world where third party payment processing services are still needed for interbank transfers, Visa and MasterCard should be able to maintain their market position since any new competitor would face high costs and would need to undercut Visa/MasterCard on margin in order to attract merchants and have little offer to banks. However, with the increasing popularity of smartphones, we could see new mobile payment methods (e.g., AliPay, Venmo, etc.) which could potentially erode the dominance of Visa and MasterCard over the next 10 years.

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