How Non-Payments Became Big Business at Visa and Mastercard

Why It Matters

Diversifying into non‑payment services protects margins and sustains growth as traditional transaction volumes plateau, reshaping the competitive dynamics of the global payments ecosystem.

Key Takeaways

• Visa's VAS revenue hit $17.5B, up 9% YoY.
• Mastercard's VAS net revenue $3.4B, 25% growth.
• Partnerships target mobile wallets, fintechs, and global expansion.
• VAS growth projected high teens to low 20s percent 2026.
• Non‑payment services now ~40% of Mastercard revenue.

Pulse Analysis

The payment‑network giants are confronting a perfect storm: regulatory scrutiny, fee disputes, and the rise of alternative rails such as real‑time payments and stablecoins. To defend their moat, Visa and Mastercard have pivoted toward value‑added services—fraud prevention, data analytics, AI‑driven risk assessment, and unified checkout solutions. By leveraging their massive merchant and issuer bases, these services generate high‑margin revenue streams that are less sensitive to transaction‑volume fluctuations, allowing the firms to preserve pricing power while offering differentiated tools to banks and merchants.

Visa’s recent upgrades to Authorize.net and the launch of a risk hub built on Featurespace technology illustrate how the network is embedding advanced analytics into its core offering. Simultaneously, the partnership with MassPay expands Visa Direct’s payout capabilities, targeting gig‑economy workers and cross‑border sellers. Mastercard’s Mid‑Market Accelerator bundles digital‑payments infrastructure with consulting and marketing services, positioning the brand as a one‑stop shop for issuers seeking to modernize their portfolios. Both companies now count hundreds of partners in their services units, creating a dense web of on‑ramps and off‑ramps that lock in transaction flows and data.

Analysts expect VAS revenue to grow at a faster clip than overall earnings, with projections in the high‑teens to low‑20s percent for 2026. This acceleration could offset the modest growth in traditional card volumes, bolstering investor confidence and reinforcing the networks’ relevance in an increasingly fragmented payments landscape. As fintechs and big‑tech firms continue to innovate, the ability of Visa and Mastercard to monetize their scale through strategic collaborations will be a decisive factor in maintaining their dominance over the global payment rails.