The “Big Five” Canadian banks include Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion Bank (TD Canada Trust), Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Are there other viable options?
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A frequent question we hear at MoneySense is: Which is better—Visa or Mastercard? When looking for a credit card, there are all sorts of things to consider. What is the interest rate? Can you collect rewards points or cash back for making purchases? Is there a bonus for signing up, and what perks and benefits does it include? Believe it or not, the answer to these questions is likely not going to depend on whether you go with a Visa or Mastercard. In this article, we’ll lay out the facts and show you why the badge on your plastic probably doesn’t matter.
Mastercard vs. Visa: 4 things to know
1. Visa and Mastercard don’t issue their own credit cards
It might seem counterintuitive, but neither Visa nor Mastercard directly distributes credit cards. Both of these companies are processing networks that partner with card issuers like banks, credit unions and other financial institutions to get their cards to the public. And it’s the actual card issuer, not the processing network, that sets most of the terms regarding interest rates, rewards and annual fees…
