Visa vs Mastercard?

[Aragorn]

Rammies thread about the Amazon Mastercard got me wondering whether there is any practical difference between Visa and Mastercard these days?

I have always had Visa, but was offered a good deal on a Mastercard. Are there still retailers that take one but not the other?

TIA

[punky]

Originally Posted by Aragorn

Rammies thread about the Amazon Mastercard got me wondering whether there is any practical difference between Visa and Mastercard these days?

I have always had Visa, but was offered a good deal on a Mastercard. Are there still retailers that take one but not the other?

TIA

When I opened an account with NatWest they automatically sent through both.

I can't think of any practical differences. I think both have the same benefits like with chargebacks, etc. I don't think I have found a place that only accepts one card and not the other (only exception I can think of is the German Football World Cup Finals 2006, that needs a Mastercard). American Express still isn't taken everywhere, because they still charge extaucinate prices to retailers.

Frankly there is really no difference between the two these days.

It used to be that often shops would only take one or the other, but that doesn't happen any more.

I have both, but that's simply because at the moment I use the Mastercard for expenditure whilst the Visa card is having its balance transferred every few months onto another 0% interest deal!

[Paul M]

Both (multiple of ....).

[Chris W]

I have both

Mastercard use SET encyption for online purchases (meaning the merchant never see's your credit card details) but as far as i can see that is the only difference.

[Richard M]

I have a Visa because I believe it's more widely accepted in the States and a few other countries.

[allieyoung666]

I do not have any,as they have got us into near dire straights and I do not wanna go there anymore!!!!!!

[Paul M]

Originally Posted by allieyoung666

I do not have any,as they have got us into near dire straights and I do not wanna go there anymore!!!!!!

Well you do need to learn to control what you spend.

[SMHarman]

HSBC processing of the (from the retailer Point of View) is called duality (as it is for both card types). They are two separate processing entities, but both have fairly common shareholders.

AMEX charges are nowhere near as high as retailers make out (these days), this is a hangover from a few years ago. They should think about applying to accept the card again.

Maestro (formerly Switch) and VISA Dr have far cheaper processing fees they are x pence per transaction, not x%

Both

Used to have only VISA only until i had to get a card replaced due to a fraudulent transaction and was left without a card for over a week. Now have both but only use the Visa as a back up.

[toots66]

Originally Posted by SMHarman

Maestro (formerly Switch) and VISA Dr have far cheaper processing fees they are x pence per transaction, not x%

Depending on the value of the transaction, of course.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by toots66

Depending on the value of the transaction, of course.

No to take a Maestro (switch) card for me costs say £0.30 whether the charge is for £1 or £1m.
To take a Visa or Mastercard the cost is say 3% so for a £10 charge it is 30p for a £100 charge it is £3.

[bob_builder]

Originally Posted by SMHarman

No to take a Maestro (switch) card for me costs say £0.30 whether the charge is for £1 or £1m.
To take a Visa or Mastercard the cost is say 3% so for a £10 charge it is 30p for a £100 charge it is £3.

I think toots66 was refering to the "far cheaper" statement. Visa Delta and Maesto are "far cheaper" for the majority of transactions but it depends on the value of the transaction.

Using your example on a £1 transaction, the Visa/Mastercard fee would be 3p and would therefore be cheaper than the flat 30p charge on Delta/Maestro.

[Stephen]

Mastercard tends just to be Credit cards and Visa are on a lot of Debit cards. Thats the way I see it anyway.

[SMHarman]

MC is also cobranding the Diners cards now so they have increased market penetration. Maestro is the MC DR card, look at the two interlocking circle logo of Maestro and Mastercard, notice they are the same, the colours are different, both also start "Ma"