Visa vs. American Express: What’s the difference?

 Visa vs. American Express: What’s the difference? 

Visa and American Express are both global payment networks. That means they both facilitate payment transactions all over the world. The main difference between the two companies, however, is that American Express is a credit card issuer and Visa is not.

Payment network: A company that approves or declines electronic transactions and transfers funds to merchants if payment is approved.

Credit card issuer: A company that issues credit cards directly to individuals and/or businesses. The issuer often determines the terms of the card and the eligibility requirements.

It’s hard to pinpoint specific differences between credit cards from these two networks, since you can find a near-endless variety of products from each one. But as a cardholder, one of the main differences you may notice is where your card is accepted.

At Costco, for example, you can only pay with a Visa credit card. You might find that some small businesses are less likely to accept American Express as well.

Visa Inc., or Visa, is one of the biggest card networks in the world. The company partners with financial institutions and retailers who issue three different levels of personal credit cards and business credit cards, all with the Visa logo