Switching costsweight 15Issuers and merchants are embedded in VisaNet rules, settlement, and dispute processes; switching a portfolio is a multi-year program.
8
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Network effectsweight 15The definitional case. Each new cardholder makes acceptance more valuable and each new merchant makes the card more valuable.
10
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Scale & cost advantageweight 12Processes hundreds of billions of transactions on infrastructure whose marginal cost approaches zero.
9
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Brand & pricing powerweight 12Accepted everywhere is the brand; interchange economics let it hold pricing without ever setting a retail price.
8
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Cornered resourceweight 12VisaNet, the rulebook, and universal acceptance — decades in the making.
8
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Distribution controlweight 12On the card in every wallet and the reader in every shop.
9
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Disruption resilienceweight 12Real-time payments, account-to-account rails, and stablecoins threaten it over a decade, not a quarter.
7
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Independenceweight 10DOJ antitrust action and interchange regulation are the standing risks; no platform owner sits above it.