How many credit card companies are there?
How many credit card companies are there? The credit card industry is gradually becoming a place that is going through a lot of competition as they jostle to oust each other with different kinds of products and packages. With time, it is seeing new entrants each day, week and month.
Currently, it is almost impossible to estimate how many of them there are out there. What these companies do is an aid in the processing of the transactions you execute with your card. Each time you send a command to buy something or pay for a service, the network company is the one that executes the command that has been sent out. In the United States of America, there are four (4) main companies that issue credit cards. These have spearheaded the production of several cards with different packages globally.
The American Express: This card has been in the system for a very long time and has assumed a global scale. It is arguably one of the world’s most used cards if not the most patronized. Apart from being a credit card issuing company, American Express also issues charged cards.
The Discover Credit Card Company: The Discover Global Network has been accepted and works within 200 countries across the world. It currently has over 270 million subscribers using its card. The company gives out both debit and credit cards.
Master Card: Operating in more than 210 nations, the Mastercard has stood out as one of the most popular cards across the world. It is one of the companies with a varied number of products that are used by many people.
The Visa: Visa Credit cards are also used in over 200 nations. With over 3.6 billion users across the globe, the Visa Credit card company issues both credit and debit cards with countless banks and institutions.
Globally, the Mastercard and the Visa are the widest and most popular credit cards across that are used. Currently, the American Express and the Discover networks are doubling up their scale to also catch up with the pace at the Mastercard and the Visa have become widely known. As it stands, in 99 out of every 100 communities where credit cards are accepted, Discover cards are also accepted. This means the company is making inroads. Meanwhile according to the Nilson Report, in 99 out of every 100 communities where credit cards are accepted, America Express cards are taken. This statistic applies to the United States.
The American Express and Discover companies give out their own cards and do not allow third-party collaborators to issue their cards. This is unlike the Mastercard and Visa. Several companies, banks and institutions have collaborated with Mastercard and Visa to issue their cards on their behalf.
Having said all this, it can be concluded that there are several other smaller companies across the globe. Some of these are as follows:
The Citibank cards: This bank also has a number of products in the system and has about 95 million subscribers globally.
The Chase Credit card company: With about 83 million users, mostly in the United States the Chase company is also making waves gradually into the market of credit cards.
Capital One: Arguably the most lenient of the companies when it comes to accepting applications, Capital One will definitely have a card for you. It has about 62 million users globally.
Others are the Bank of America, the Synchrony Financial, The Wells Fargo, Barclays US, The USAA, Credit One, and PNC Bank.
These are the major ones in the system and you definitely would find one that would fit your lifestyle.