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Getting merchants to sign up should be really easy. But, how do you get them to pull the plug on Visa/MC? They'd have to be sure that they wouldn't lose too m
by ShabbyDoo 18y ago
Getting merchants to sign up should be really easy. But, how do you get them to pull the plug on Visa/MC? They'd have to be sure that they wouldn't lose too much revenue, and that would require a significant portion of the card-holding population to have a revolution card. And, you'd have to deal with corporations that only have one of Visa/MC/AmEx for corp purchases.
I suppose merchants could feature Revolution prominently to increase its use, but they can't make it too hard to use other cards or they'll lose out. And, given my 1%-2% bribe for using my Visa/MC, why wouldn't I look for the little button down in the corner?
Discover (Sears) was able to introduce a new card, but they too the opposite route -- they bribed consumers to use it. So, even though it has basically the same fees as the others (IIRC), consumers could see an effectively lower price through its use.
- dminor 18y agoThe bribe in this case is free consumer to consumer transfers (and I don't think this bribe should be underestimated), but you're right, savvy consumers will still just use their rewards cards and continue to be subsidized by those who don't have rewards cards. I don't think anyone will pull the plug on Visa/MC any time soon, but more competition would be nice.