Location and Scope

Visa Incorporated has its headquarters in San Francisco, California. It is a multinational corporation with claim to the largest retail electronic payment network in the world. American Express Company is located on the opposite coast, in New York City, New York. It is a diversified global financial services company.

In the past few years, VISA's market share for credit cards has been rising, while that of American Express has been falling. The US credit card market share for VISA in 2004 was 40%, and by 2006, that was up to 44%. In addition, by 2006, it had 48% of the US debit card market share. American Express, on the other hand, had 36.4% of the US credit card market share in 2004, but only 20% in 2006, and it does not issue debit cards.

History

American Express is by far the older brand. Founded in 1850 through the merging of three express mail companies—Butterfield, Wasson & Company; Livingston, Fargo & Company, and Well & Company—American Express is not operating in its third century and has over one hundred and fifty years of experience. VISA , on the other hand, grew out of  Bank of America.

Both companies—if you count VISA's roots in Bank of America—began with a charge card, rather than a credit card, although American Express had offered other products prior to that, for example the American Express Traveler's Checks, which it debuted in 1891. VISA's first card (as Bank of America) was the BankAmericard in 1958, a charge card with a "revolving credit" feature. In the same year, American Express introduced its charge card, which had a six dollar annual fee.

Both companies have undergone recent restructuring changes. VISA made its initial public offering (IPO) and opened trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2008. American Express, one of the elements of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, had already had its common stock traded on NYSE: the big change for American Express in 2008 was converting to a bank holding company, with permission of the Federal Reserve System, in response to the financial crisis.

Offerings

Both American Express and VISA offer consumer and commercial cards. VISA has offerings in the following categories:

With VISA, consumers have a choice of

• debit cards, which deduct the cost of a sale from funds that are in an account, such as a bank account, without having to carry checks;
• credit cards, for which consumers buy now and pay later; and
• prepaid cards, which do not involve a separate bank account.

The credit cards can be standard credit cards, rewards credit cards, or premium rewards credit cards.

With VISA, commercial institutions' choices partly depend on whether they are small businesses, mid- to large-sized companies, or government branches. Choices include:

• VISA Business Credit Card
• VISA Business Check Card
• VISA Business Debit Card

There are also cards to meet special needs, such as the VISA Purchase Card and VISA Travel Card for government agencies.

With American Express, consumers have a choice of charge cards and credit cards.

• Charge cards include American Express Green, Gold, and Platinum
• Credit cards include Blue and Clear from American Express as well as co-branded cards with Costco, airlines, and hotels.

With American Express, small businesses have a similar choice to consumers, in that there is an array of charge cards, and a choice of standard and reward credit cards, both from American Express alone, as well as co-branded cards. Corporations can also choose between charge cards and credit cards.