Visa's U.S. market share increased during the coronavirus pandemic, mostly as Americans used more debit cards. This is according to estimates based on the transaction volume of general purpose credit and debit cards issued in the United States. Visa's market share strengthened as time went by, moving from a roughly ** percent market share in 2007 to more than ** percent by 2022. This is likely because of the growing use of debit cards in the U.S. — causing the market share of American Express to decline. Debit cards grow faster than credit cards in the U.S. The number of cards issued by Visa reveals a growth disparity between their debit cards and their credit cards. The number of Visa issued debit cards in circulation in the U.S. in Q2 2023 had increased by *** percent when compared to the same period in the previous year. This growth figure was *** percent for U.S. Visa issued credit cards during the same period. By the second quarter, the United States had over *** million debit cards from Visa against roughly *** million Visa credit cards. Who uses debit cards in the United States? A three-year survey stated more than ***** out of 10 respondents from the United States owned a debit card in 2021, with only ** percent actually having used one. Women were much more likely than men to own such a payment card. Gen Z — or the age group 15 to 24 years in this survey — was less likely to own a debit card than their older counterparts, although their ownership of debit cards was much higher when compared to Gen Z credit card ownership.

UnionPay's global market share grew faster than that of MasterCard, whilst Visa's worldwide market position declined. This does not imply that Visa's transaction volume worldwide declined: It increased by roughly ** billion purchases between 2021 and 2022. Compared to the number of transactions from UnionPay and MasterCard, however, Visa's transactions did not increase as much - leading to a declining market share.

When comparing the four big international card brands available, the importance of Visa in Europe declined between 2021 and 2020 in favor of Mastercard. This has been an ongoing trend for the payment brand, as its market share declined by ** percentage points between 2015 and 2020. Note, however, that this market share is solely based on the number of purchase transactions done with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Diners Club only - as domestic solutions were not included. This way, the source is effectively saying that out of the global network cards Visa ranks higher than Mastercard. It does not mention, however, how these purchase transaction compares against payments outside these four brands. This is an important observation, as some domestic payment solutions - such as Italy's Bancomat or Germany's Girocard - have a much higher market share than either Visa or Mastercard.

Visa and Mastercard processed more than ***** out of 10 card payments in the United States, with market shares of Discover and Pulse being much smaller. The two brands dominate this particular digital payment segment, and confirm an image from elsewhere: A different report also observes the growing market share of Visa in the U.S. since the coronavirus pandemic. The main difference between the two figures, however, is the different market share for American Express as well as the mentioning of smaller brands - such as Discover, Star, and Pulse.

Visa and Mastercard had varying market shares across 14 different European countries in 2024, sometimes significantly lower than domestic payment cards. Visa was the largest card issuer in Ireland, with a market share of ** percent. Mastercard, on the other hand, held market shares of ** percent and ** percent in the Netherlands and Sweden, respectively. Unlike the United States, Visa and Mastercard are often associated with debit cards in Europe. Indeed, debit card use is more prevalent than the use of credit cards in Europe, as revealed by estimates on credit cards and debit cards per capita in 37 European countries. Visa is Europe’s biggest payment brand... Across all considered European payment figures, Visa outperforms MasterCard. For instance, credit cards and prepaid cards issued across the European continent were used for nearly ** billion transactions in 2019. Nearly ** percent of all these transactions were done with Visa general purpose cards, while MasterCard made up for ** percent of the market. In 2018, Visa also had a higher purchase volume in Europe than MasterCard, Amex, and Diners combined. Visa made up for *** trillion of the ***** trillion U.S. dollars that credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards generated that year in Europe. ... but in name only, as Europe’s payment landscape is complicated. When looking at European countries individually, however, the market shares of Visa and MasterCard varied dramatically. In Germany, for example, the domestic card brand Girocard had a market share of ** percent, whereas Visa and MasterCard each made up around ** and ** percent of the market. Italy, on the other hand, was more divided. Bancomat cards made up ** percent of transactions, whereas MasterCard and Visa each held a market share of approximately ** and ** percent. Market shares for either Visa or MasterCard are not readily available in France as the term “bank card” or carte bancaires (derived from the domestic payment brand CB) is not associated with a particular brand in French language, as can be seen in a domestic survey on the most preferred payment methods in France.

In 2024, Visa still had the majority of all general purpose card payments within the Latin America region - although its market share remained relatively unchanged. Mastercard followed, accounting for about ** percent of the purchase volume in the region that year. This is somewhat of a decline of its position as between 2018 and 2019 MasterCard's market share increased in favor of that of American Express. In 2024, Brazil was the Latin American country with the highest number of credit cards.

Visa remained the largest processor in corporate card spending in 2022, although the market share of Mastercard and Amex increased. This is according to data from an UK market research company first published in 2024. The source attributes this to an increased offering of fintech-issued commercial cards, which are co-branded with the likes of Visa and Mastercard. For example, the source mentions the issuing of Mastercard-branded cards by Revolut in the UK. However, there are no clear figures for individual fintechs or how many of these cards were issued physically or virtually.

Visa is the most prominent brand in online and offline card payments in Mexico, with a market share of ** percent in 2023. This according to research held over the years within the country. The source does not explain some its changes, such as the exclusion of AmEx in 2019. Nevertheless, it observes that the country mainly uses international card schemes. Debit cards and credit cards both saw their market share in POS payments increase in Mexico, although cash remained the most used offline payment method.

The market share of domestic card brand RuPay did not reach the same heights in India as either Visa or Mastercard. Visa, especially, is popular in the Asian country, with a market share in 2023 of ** percent, an increase of ******percentage points from the previous year. Mastercard's market share grew by **** percentage points during the same timeframe. The share of cash in India declined significantly since COVID-19, whereas digital wallets became the most used in-store payment method. Noticeable is the growing use of credit cards for offline payments.

Mastercard's market share in Brazil increased by *** percentage point between 2022 and 2023, whilst Visa's market share also increased. The two card brands are responsible for ***** out of 10 card payments in either an offline or online environment in the South American country. Domestic scheme Elo from São Paulo did become more popular as time went by - coinciding with a general increase of both debit cards and credit cards in Brazilian POS payments.

Visa's market share in the UK decreased **** percentage points between 2022 and 2023, although it remained the country's biggest payment card brand. It is assumed that most payments conducted with these two brands are credit cards, although contactless debit cards payments do play a big role in the United Kingdom. For example, approximately **** million debit cards with the ability to make contactless payments were issued as of October 2019.

The market share of Visa in Taiwan was only larger than that of both Mastercard and local brand Taiwan Pay. Mobile payment solution Smarpay, especially, is noticeable, as it lost half of its market share between 2019 and 2020. The source does not mention why this occurred. Nevertheless, Taiwan boasts many different card brands as, especially, credit cards are used often.

The market share of Visa in Malaysia remained relatively unchanged in 2021, at ** percent. This according to research conducted over multiple years within the country. The source claims that Malaysia grows relatively quickly when it comes to online shopping, possibly explaining why the market shares of both Visa and Mastercard grew over time. Debit cards and credit cards are used within the Asian country, but their market share in POS payments did not grow as much since the coronavirus pandemic as, say, mobile wallets.

As of 2020, the most popular payment card brand in Russia for both online and offline payments was Visa, accounting for ** percent of users. Mastercard was the second most employed type of cards with a share of ** percent over the observed period.

Between 2016 and 2023, the market share of leading payment card schemes in the Netherlands was dominated by just single one brand. MasterCard was by far and away the Netherlands' most-used payment brand. This is likely due to MasterCard being co-branded on nearly every issued debit card in the country. In 2023, ** percent of the market share in the Netherlands was accounted for by MasterCard. According to the Dutch Central Bank (DNB), approximately ** percent of all Dutch consumers have a credit card in his or her possession. The use of debit cards, however, is much more accepted as a payment method. According to a report from the European Central Bank (ECB), the Netherlands was the country in Europe which used cash money the least when paying at POS or "points of sale".

German card scheme Girocard lost **** its market share to Visa and MasterCard in 2020, but had recovered by 2021. Although the source does not mention explicitly why this sudden change occurred, German consumers did increasingly use both credit cards and Buy Now, Pay Later since the coronavirus pandemic. As Girocard is a debit card scheme - not a credit card - it is not involved in either of these two payment methods.

According to a report published by PPRO, the most common card scheme in Saudi Arabia was the local card scheme, dominating the market with about ** percent of the market share in 2020. ** percent of the Saudi population used cards as means of payment in 2020.

Visa and Mastercard credit cards were responsible for **** percent of all Australian credit card payments in June 2023. The two companies are the major credit card providers in Australia, and have continued to maintain their market share over the past years.

Visa's market share declined in 2023, while Mastercard's remained unchanged from the previous year. This according to research held over the years within Australia. Noticeable is the consistency of EFTPOS, a domestic POS payment system, whilst international brands show an increasing market share. Digital/mobile wallets are generally preferred for POS transactions within the country.

UnionPay overwhelmingly leads the market for card payments in China, with an estimated market share of almost *** percent. Such a dominance of an in-market local card scheme is not found in other countries in the world, where often either Visa or Mastercard tend to be the largest provider. Another important trait of Chinese payments is the important role of mobile wallets in in-store payments, with a market share in 2023 that is higher than that of both credit and debit cards combined.