How Credit Cards Work In The U.S.

 

CNBC Marathon takes a look at how credit cards work in the U.S., including major industry players like Visa, Amex, and Discover.

$6.7 trillion. That is how much Americans spent using their debit or credit cards in 2019. More than 60% of those purchases were made using cards from Visa, a company that has long dominated the payment card industry. As payment cards become more essential in our daily lives, Visa has quickly grown to become one of the most valuable companies in America. So how exactly does Visa make money and why does it dominate the payment card industry?