Visa, Mastercard, Discover & American Express To Combine For Single ‘Checkout’ Button

Visa, Mastercard, Discover & American Express are set to combine forces to create a new checkout button. The aim is to reduce the confusion around the multiple different checkout buttons/platforms (e.g Masterpass, Visa checkout, American Express checkout) and compete more effectively against Paypal. Visa & Mastercard announced the plan for the new checkout button last week and since then American Express & Discover have announced they will also join the effort.

Hopefully this doesn’t mean an end to the lucrative promotions that each payment network has been offering to use their checkout button. I suspect at least in the short term we will see this ramp up when the new combined button is launched to help increase the number of merchants using these buttons. Currently the break down is as follows:

  • PayPal: 58%
  • Apple Pay: 48%
  • Visa checkout: 26%
  • Masterpass: 16%
  • AmEx checkout: 9%
    William Charles
  • On April 23, 2018, 12:30

View Comments (27)

  • They might as well. It was already not as limited as it sounds. I have a MASTERCARD registered as my one card at VISA checkout So they already were taking other network cards, just not advertising it.

  • I have a feeling that this may or may not have caught Paypal by surprised.

    After all, didn't they iron out their differences with Visa in 2016, signed extension agreements with Mastercard for their co-brand credit cards in 2017,and carried on with Discover's Cashback Bonus Integration with Paypal - not to mention that Discover is the payment network for Paypal on Google Pay and maybe even Samsung Pay (?).

    As for American Express, I don't recall Paypal and AMEX being overly friendly with each other, much less collaborative.

    Why take measures to bolster mutual cooperation across a line of products and services just to scrap it when market conditions encourage a more competitive and adversarial business rapport?

    I'd be interested to know. I'll do some digging and see what I can find.

  • Boy PayPal is at a crossroads. Their stock has been a big winner the past year or so, and imho they do have a great product [ppdg drama aside].

    But if the buyer is gonna use their amex through PayPal, and now the buyer can just click the amex button...why would the buyer use PayPal?? I guess this is why PayPal stock was downgraded and shares fell amongst news of 'underappreciated business pressures'

    • They will have to find more ways to incentivize users like the Free Returns they currently offer.

  • This has one main upside and one main downside. i am not sure about anyone else, but the ONLY time i use these, is for promotions. Otherwise, i prefer to pay direct with CC to ensure i get proper CC benefits and protections (that being said, i am fairly certain with most banks, I think Amex for sure, they will honor protections even if you use paypal and others. But there's no guarantee).

    The main con is that less competition equals less likely to promote to compete hard, and less innovation.

    The main pro is less likely that they will all wither away because of paypal. Maybe now they can give paypal a run for its money....or at least survive longer. Let's see.

    For me, this doesn't affect my life much at all. I have barely done any promotions with these.

    • But sadly AMEX doesn't honor their Amex Offers if you use Paypal to checkout instead of the card directly.

    • I agree Brian. I have accounts with most of these services because of promotions or discounts only. I do not like the idea of putting in usernames and passwords and feel much better directly putting in my CC the " old fashion" way and relying on the protection i've always had doing it this way. Unless it benefits me in anyway beside " ease to the user" as they so conveniently put it as if they are doing me a favor I wont be bending on this one.

  • Wow, the will to screw Paypal is so strong.
    I do not think the offers will end though.
    They may combine the button only, it does not make sense to combine the logins since at some point you have to pick the payment processor and why not do it right after the button. I guess the choices will show up after clicking the button, and then you pick one of the four, and then login.

  • Weird, I have yet to see many online retailers that accept Apple Pay. I have noticed it in a few more brick and mortar stores but still definitely seems like the least used platform ime

    • here in NYC nearly all B&M stores accept ApplePay... those that do not are very few and I stopped shopping there.

      • Actually, about all the verifone pos accepting Apple Pay. Although they didn't see it on screen.

      • At least in my area, Apple Pay is accepted at Trader Joe's and Albertsons, so I used it all the time Q1 for my grocery purchases with Chase Freedom. Also Raise.com accepts Apple Pay, so I purchased a lot of gift cards from them also in Q1.

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