Now that they're public ... Industry experts make sense of the MasterCard and Visa IPO outcomes. Read between the lines for what's in store for payments.(CARD STRATEGIES)

ABA Banking Journal,  January, 2008  by Bielski, Lauren

Tags: industry, IPO, MasterCard International, payment, strategyVisa Inc.

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At a time when credit cards are still a big source of bank revenue despite waning consumer confidence, a vexed Congress, and other pressures, some in the industry are looking at a public MasterCard and soon-to-follow Visa and wondering if, and how, such a move could come back to haunt bank card issuers in the long run.

Competitive trouble down the road for issuers, some speculate, might come in the form of new distribution channels for cards, new card features, or deals that kill the luster on profitable classic cards, or make them look a little less ...

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