What is the difference between Visa and MasterCard?
Both rely on banks around the world to issue cards that use their payment system so there is no significant differences between the two payment systems only that at the moment MasterCards are accepted in more countries around the world when using a credit card or prepaid credit card but over the past few years Visa have been catching up. Visa and MasterCard take a percentage of the amount the bank providers charge the retailers you take the payments via these cards. In return the retailers get a certain degree of assurance that the goods or services they have sold will be paid for.
They both also have an additional brand, Visa has Electron and MasterCard has Maestro and they are both leading the way to payment solutions and are capable of connecting any cardholder's bank to any merchant's bank, from any point of sale in the world, at any time.
More information about Visa
At the heart of the Visa payment system is an extremely secure worldwide IT network called VisaNet which is a highly sophisticated and totally reliable.
VisaNet is one of the biggest communications networks in the world which reaches out to every major bank in the world and merchants that participates in its payment system. VisaNet plays a central part in all transactions which are domestic and cross-border.
Visa applications
Transmitting real-time authorisation requests and approvals
Carrying out clearing and settlement
Stand-in processing services - taking authorisation decisions on behalf of card issuers
Additional services like cardholder authentication, fraud screening and transaction storage
What about MasterCard
MasterCard have lead the way in developing new card technology. MasterCard were the first to market most of the card security features that are use today. MasterCard have continued to develop and implement new advances to prevent payment card fraud and data protection.
MasterCard have been the leaders in the payment services.
1969 – Introduced a centralised fraud reporting system to track and analyse fraud
1974 – Standardised the magnetic stripe for all cards
1983 – Pioneered the three-dimensional hologram
1988 – Developed Card Validation Code 2
1988 – Developed tamper-evident signature strip
1990 – Introduced the Member Protection Programme, combining fraud monitoring and analysis
1995 – Introduced Chip technology
2001 – Launched Data Protection TM
2002 – Launched SecureCode TM
2003 – Introduced the Debit MasterCard Hologram
2004 – Partnered with NameProtect to close down fraudulent internet sites
2005 – Mandated Triple DES encryption on all ATM networks
2005 – Integrated mobile messaging service into fraud detection product Aristion
