Matisse Cappon obtained his M.Sc. in Finance & Risk Management from Ghent University with distinction in 2023, after which, at the same university, he completed the Advanced M.Sc. in Banking & Finance. His master's thesis dealt with the subject of market timing, for which a collaboration was established with Nationale Nederlanden. In November 2024, Matisse joined Econopolis as an equity analyst within the fund team.
Fiery Flash: Mastercard
This week’s fiery flash features not one, but two heavyweights: Visa and Mastercard. Alongside American Express, they form an oligopoly in card issuance, commanding the vast majority of market share in the space. More broadly, Visa and Mastercard serve as the Western world’s primary payment rails, refering to the vast electronic networks they operate, processing trillions in transactions annually and earning a small percentage from each.
While often viewed as unassailable infrastructure, last week brought headlines suggesting that retail giants Walmart and Amazon are exploring the use of stablecoins (i.e. cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like fiat currencies to minimize price volatility) as a potential payment method in their (online) stores. Given that Visa and Mastercard have steadily raised fees over the years, the idea of large merchants seeking greater control over payment costs isn't surprising.
Bypassing the world’s dominant payment networks is unlikely to happen quickly, but early steps by major retailers toward alternative systems remain developments to watch closely.
Mastercard dropped 4,79% last week.
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