American Express, or AMEX, is one of the most well-known names in the financial world. What many customers with MasterCard or Visa credit cards care about in their portfolio is what is the difference between these two companies and American Express. Well, the difference is very simple.
MasterCard and Visa are simply payment methods. It allows websites to accept payments using their system. However, they do not issue any credit cards of their own. That is why they depend on their partnerships with thousands of banks around the world that will issue credit cards, provide the necessary credit, obtain customer interest and give them rewards. None of your credit card bills go to Visa or MasterCard. It all goes to the bank that presented the card. This bank also sets your interest rate, gives you rewards, offers you zero percent balance transfers, and business.
Visa and MasterCard make their money by charging the retailer for the use of their payment system, sometimes by charging your bank to issue the card. None of this directly affects you.
American Express is a completely different arrangement. They not only have their own payment system, but they issue their cards directly to customers. So they run the whole show. If the card contains an American Express card, you know immediately who issued it, the payment system you’re using and everything else about the card.
While Visa and MasterCard are potentially more popular payment methods worldwide, American Express is further expanding its network. Visa and MasterCard are accepted in over twenty million locations worldwide and spread over more than 150 countries. This makes them truly global payment methods. AMEX still lacks this degree of saturation. There are places in the world where Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted, but using American Express is more difficult.
However, American Express has its own advantages, especially for customers in Europe and North America. In these countries, the card is widely accepted. The company also offers very attractive credit cards. They have good rates, good bonus schemes and good customer service. If you want a guaranteed card to give you a high level of service, and this still carries a little extra extra now that Visa and MasterCard have become so popular, American Express or AMEX is a good safe option.
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