Visa® vs. Mastercard®: What’s the difference?

If you check your wallet, you may notice you have a mix of credit card networks. The credit card networks help process your payment, and two well-known networks are Visa and Mastercard. 

Whether you want to learn more about your current cards or are exploring new options, you can use this guide to learn about the similarities and differences between Visa and Mastercard.

Key takeaways

• Visa and Mastercard are the most popular and widely accepted credit card networks. 
• Neither Visa nor Mastercard issues cards directly. Instead, cards are offered by banks and financial institutions that partner with credit card networks.
• Customers may notice that the benefits offered by Visa and Mastercard, as well as the types of products both networks have, can differ.
• Capital One offers credit cards from both Visa and Mastercard. 

Visa and Mastercard are credit card networks. Their cards are issued through banks and financial institutions, but the networks are responsible for facilitating transactions. Visa and Mastercard products can be debit cards, credit cards, prepaid cards or gift cards.

Visa and Mastercard have many similarities. For example, they both:

• Are widely accepted: Most retailers accept both Visa and Mastercard. However, there are some merchants that have exclusive partnerships with certain networks. 
• Use co-branding: Both cards partner with a variety of institutions to co-brand their cards. You can find their logos on a variety of different types of cards, including debit cards, health savings account cards and more.
• Work with financial partners: The decision about whether to approve card applications is left to their issuing partner, which also offers their own unique rewards, interest rates, fees and other terms and conditions. 
• Utilize contactless payment technology: To make payment processing ever faster, both networks use contactless payment technology where the cardholder taps or hovers their card, phone, watch or other device over the card terminal. 

Visa and Mastercard may offer different benefits specific to their card levels, but for the most part, the card issuer determines the major benefits, such as rewards.

When it comes to choosing Visa or Mastercard, there’s not really an obvious choice. Both networks have a long history of securely processing payments and are likely to be accepted by the majority of merchants that allow card payments.

Instead of focusing on the payment network, it may be better to choose a card based on its individual benefits and rewards. You could compare things like cash back and travel rewards, annual percentage rate (APR), annual fees and introductory interest rates to determine which credit card is right for you.

American Express and Discover are two other major credit card payment networks. But unlike Visa and Mastercard, Discover and American Express are also credit card issuers. This means they issue the cards themselves instead of partnering with banks and other financial institutions to issue cards.

In most cases, when you get a Discover or American Express card, you’re applying to the credit card company directly. And when you pay your credit card bill, you’re paying the card company directly.

Whether you have a Visa or Mastercard may not make much of a difference because both brands are accepted widely. The major differences have to do with the card and what additional benefits cardholders can expect. 

Capital One offers both Visa- and Mastercard-branded cards with a wide range of rewards and benefits, so you can compare to find the best card for you. Ready to apply for your Capital One Visa or Mastercard? Consider getting pre-approved today without harming your credit scores.