Did you know ? When making a payment, you can often choose between CB and Visa or MasterCard.

Few people are interested in this, but payment by bank card – in 2022 in France there were 18.3 billion transactions with French cards – occurs according to a complex but well-functioning mechanism. When your bank issuer issues you a bank card in your name, in most cases it is co-branded. With the logo of CB – the French interbank network – with which the international payment networks Visa or MasterCard are linked.

But some bank cards are called “only”, that is, they support only the international payment scheme with which they are associated. In this case, the transaction will be completed automatically through the network mentioned above.

The Central Bank lacks fame

The situation is different when the bank card is co-branded. “European regulations offer consumers the opportunity to choose the brand through which they make a payment,” explains Bries van de Walle, CEO of MasterCard France. This is important because we differentiate ourselves with benefits, services, etc. But some sites in France do not give the consumer a choice. »

If you have the option, simply click on the desired CB, Visa or MasterCard icon before entering your bank card codes. “You have a choice of brand, but the problem is that no one knows about it,” says Guillaume Iribarrin, Galitt associate director of consulting and payments expert.

The problem for CB at the moment is that consumers intuitively click on the logos of much more well-known international chains. “The weight of marketing allowed Visa and MasterCard to build an image, while CB was not visible enough,” says Guillaume Larmareau, banking partner at Colombus Consulting. And Guillaume Iribarrin states: “It’s something like David versus Goliath. »

Choice is also possible at payment terminals

An even lesser known fact is that chain selection is also an option when purchasing in-store. Of course, merchants by default configure TPE primarily to transmit payments through the CB network, which results in lower costs on average. But if you press the orange button on the terminal after inserting the card, you can select your network.

But what difference does this make? Thus, for the seller, the costs through CB are lower on average. On the customer side, international networks offer more extensive services and benefits. But in terms of coverage there is no difference, says Philip Lolani, CEO of CB: “With a co-branded card, you get the same insurance regardless of the network you pay through. Because you sign a card agreement with your bank. »