How do payment processors like MasterCard and Visa compete with each other? Why would I, layperson buying groceries, care?

Question

I ask why would I care because banks invest heavily in making sure customers know on which circuit their cards operate on. However, most places accept both MasterCard and Visa (and potentially others, depending on the country).

In: Economics

Answer 1

Visa and MasterCard’s customers are the retail businesses, not the consumers. So you as a consumer don’t need to care at all.

The only exception is when traveling overseas there may be places that accept only a few processors, so you need to make sure you have a card with one of those processors.