Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide have experienced mixed results in the U.S. issuance of debit cards carrying their logos. But both brands have seen the issuance of credit cards with their brand marks tumble as issuers cut their exposures to financial risk.
For the quarter ended March 31, the most recent period for which card-issuance numbers are available for both brands, Visa’s U.S. issuers had 281 million credit cards on issue, down 11.6% from 318 million during the same time last year. MasterCard issuers had 172 million credit cards on issue, down 17.3% from 208 million.
Visa faired more favorably in the debit card market, where issuers of its branded cards had 405 million debit cards on issue, up 16.7% from 347 million. MasterCard issuers had 119 million debit cards on issue, down 2.5% from 122 million a year earlier.
During a conference call with analysts to address its second-quarter performance, MasterCard noted it is beginning to see the bottom-line effects of losing certain U.S. debit card portfolios, including Washington Mutual Inc., which JPMorgan Chase & Co. (
And despite pending debit-interchange regulation, Visa believes the impact on the company will be “modest” (
