Visa, Mastercard and American Express
American Express cards poured into the financial market in the 50s. Visa and Master Card emerged around the same time and focused on the same segment, consumer credit. If we compare to the differences between the three types of cards, we see virtually no difference between Visa and MasterCard. But between the last two American Express and differences do exist, especially in the form of operational use.
Visa and MasterCard are essentially methods of payment. Never issued cards by themselves, but they reach agreements with local stations which are entities who ultimately issued the cards. Visa and Mastercard charge a commission to local authorities for the use of the payment system. These entities in turn charge their own fees to end customers. The cardholder never pay anything directly to VISA or MasterCard.
American Express operates one yet completely different. They issue their own cards under its own name and logo. They pay directly to the establishment that made the payment, less the commission. Express Amrerican promoting their products directly to brokers. Another important difference is that the Amerian Express coverage is much lower than the other cards.
