From Mastercard to VISA: Is there a difference between these payment processing systems? 

David Malpass, the President of World Bank, who was appointed by the former US President Donald Trump, has recently decided to step down from his role. Amidst this, current American President Joe Biden has announced former Mastercard CEO, the Indian origin Ajay Banga as USA’s nomination for the position. The Biden-led government believes that Banga has the expertise to tackle global economic challenges, including the ones emerging from climate change.  

As most of you know, Mastercard is a kind of payment processing system that is available in case of both debit and credit cards. You might recognise it from the dual circle logo. But guess what? Mastercard is not the only player in the field of credit and debit cards, there are more. Here are some of the other well-known payment processing systems that we commonly find on our cards. Let us help you understand the difference between them.  

Mastercard 
Born in the 1960s USA in the hands of Mastercard Inc., the speciality of a Mastercard card is that it is accepted globally, both in ATMs and online transactions. There are other advantages of using Mastercard cards too. For instance, in case of its debit cards, money is almost instantly deducted from the user’s bank account and even shows the remaining balance. Similarly, its credit cards keep a detailed record of all transactions made in a given month. Furthermore, with a Mastercard, one can access their savings or current account through a SecureCode payment platform. There are primarily four kinds of Mastercards in circulation. They are: Standard Debit MasterCard, Platinum Debit MasterCard, World Debit MasterCard and World Delite Elite MasterCard. 
 
Another type of payment processing system launched by Mastercard Inc. is Maestro. There’s as such no difference between Maestro and Mastercard except the fact that Maestro debit card can both be prepaid and postpaid. Moreover, a Mastercard often has a fixed spending limit, which too is missing from a Maestro card. Otherwise, both are quite similar and are accepted worldwide in case of ATM, online or in-person transactions. Maestro card was born much later in 1991 and is soon going to be discontinued across Europe July. 

RuPay 
Contrary to Mastercard that can be used internationally, RuPay Debit Card can only be used to make domestic transactions. Why? Because the National Payments Corporation of India introduced it in March 2012 as an Indian-multinational payment service. In fact, RuPay Card is often issued under the domestic card scheme and can be used in ATMs and online/offline transactions solely within the parameters of the country. It has to be linked to a bank recognised by the Reserve Bank of India. While it can’t be used abroad, it sure has its advantage. Turns out, this card often has lower processing cost and time as compared to VISA or Mastercard. This is because they were launched to provide easy electronic access to bank accounts for people living outside urban areas. RuPay cards come in six types including RuPay Platinum, RuPay PMJDY, RuPay PunGrain, RuPay Mudra, RuPay Kisan and RuPay Classic.  

VISA 
One of the oldest kinds of payment processing systems, VISA originated in San Francisco, USA in 1958 and has ever since been ruling the world of banking. Unlike a Mastercard, the VISA card can not only be issued by a bank but also any other kind of financial institution (such as hedge fund) that has partnership with the International VISA Payment System Network. Moreover, just like a visa allows you to enter and live in a specific country, similarly, a VISA card too can only operate in your own country, as well as the one you seek permission for. So, the next time you go abroad, say in the USA, make sure to activate the VISA card for USA itself. But if you visit Canada from there, remember, it will not work there. Interestingly, VISA cardholders can have an overdraft facility.  

There are five major types of VISA cards namely: VISA Classic, VISA Gold, VISA Platinum, VISA Infinite and VISA Signature.  

Contactless 
Perhaps the most recently deployed (in 2016) cards, it allows the users to make contactless transactions. In fact, instead of swiping the cards like in case of other cards, a contactless card simply requires you to wave it over the card machine and the transaction is automatically processed, without entering the secured PIN. This kind of cards not only provide a quick method of cashless transaction but is also safe. How? Because one doesn’t necessarily have to hand over the card to the cashier. This reduces the chance of them duplicating or stealing the card details.  

Wondering how the card works without being swiped? Well, it uses technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification system or the Near Field Communications to detect the card without any physical contact.