Card payments are more common in the UK than elsewhere in Europe, with an average of 2-3 debit cards per person. 90% of people hold a Visa or Mastercard bank card, and about 90% of online payments are by bank cards.
About 40% of online transactions in the UK are paid with credit cards. In 2023, about 36% of online transactions, paying with debit cards.
Visa and Mastercard are two well-known international payment systems that provide credit and debit card services. They both provide convenient payment methods for cardholders and are widely accepted worldwide.
This article will provide a detailed introduction to these two familiar international card organizations, as well as GlobePay’s cross-border payment solutions.
Visa
Visa is one of the world’s largest payment technology companies, with headquartering in the United States and founding in the 1950s. Visa’s debit cards has four major brands – Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS.
Visa’s brand covers more than 200 countries and regions around the world, with more than 1 billion cards in use, covering multiple fields such as retail, tourism, and catering.
Users holding Visa cards can make payments worldwide and enjoy a convenient consumption experience.
MasterCard
Mastercard is also a multinational payment technology company in the United States, founded in the 1960s. They provides leading global business links for global financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants and cardholders.
In addition, it is the first organization to expand global network services in China.
Differences between Visa and MasterCard
Scope of application
In terms of acceptance, the two cards are similar. Generally, Mastercard is accepted in places where Visa is accepted. However, Visa is accepted by more merchants in Asia, Australia and North America, while Mastercard has more ATMs and acceptors in Europe.
Business scale
Both Visa credit card business covers more than 200 countries and regions, while Mastercard credit card business covers more than 210 countries and regions;
Visa credit card transaction volume is higher than Mastercard; the number of ATMs that support Mastercard withdrawals worldwide is greater than that of Visa withdrawals.
Exchange rates and fees
Visa and Mastercard do not differ much in fees, and the specific fee standards of a certain card are related to the issuing bank.
In terms of fees, Visa may be slightly better; but Mastercard has a better foreign exchange rate.
Cashback and points rewards
Usually, Visa offers more types of reward policies, such as cashback, flight miles, etc.; while Mastercard focuses more on providing discounts on luxury brands and other consumer goods.
GlobePay helps your UK businesses integrate cross-border payments
Now, you can accept card payment collection channels including VISA, Mastercard and UnionPay by opening a GlobePay account.
Features of GlobePay card payment
- Require website registration
The following website requirements must be met when applying for card payment:
. Independent website with shopping function;
. Must have terms and conditions, privacy policy, return policy, etc.;
. The website language must be English;
. The name on the website page or domain name must be related to your company name. - Supports links to shopping websites and QR code scanning payment
- The pricing model opened is IC++, which is transparent, open and flexible
