The credit card you use for purchases matters. Although all cards work similarly at the point of sale, the types of cards you carry and the card issuers can greatly affect your experience.
Will That Be Credit or Debit?
Despite the widespread availability of new forms of digital payment, use of debit outpaces credit, according to a 2023 J.D. Power study. Seventy-eight percent of consumers indicated that they use their debit card for purchases, making it the most popular form of payment at point of sale.
Mastercard and Visa debit and prepaid card transactions totaled 441.3 billion in 2023, an increase of 3.6% from 2022, according to the most recent figures available from The Nilson Report, a newsletter covering the global payment industry. Debit cards made up over 65% of purchase transactions in the first half of 2024, rising slightly from the first half of 2023.
But credit remains popular. The top five credit card issuers in the U.S. generated a purchase volume of $4.03 trillion in 2023.
The growth in debit card use has pros and cons for cardholders, says John Ulzheimer, a credit expert who has worked at Equifax and FICO. On one hand, debit cards don’t allow you to incur debt or interest charges. On the other hand, fraud liability protections are weaker for debit cards than credit cards, and debit cards don’t help you build credit.
The Largest Credit Card Issuers
Credit card issuers manage your accounts, from accepting your application and mailing your card to sending statements and processing payments. They also manage rewards and benefit programs and report your payment history to the credit bureaus.
All card companies function about the same, but they don’t deliver the same experience or value. Major credit card issuers may offer more products compared with credit unions or small banks, for instance. When you’re shopping for a credit card, knowing which credit card companies have the highest purchase volume can help you make an informed decision.
According to The Nilson Report, these were the biggest U.S. credit card companies in 2023 — the most up-to-date data available — by purchase volume.
1. Chase: $1.25 trillion
2. American Express: $1.12 trillion
3. Citi: $593.8 billion
4. Capital One: $575.4 billion
5. Bank of America: $494 billion
6. Discover: $217.9 billion
7. U.S. Bank: $200.2 billion
8. Wells Fargo: $192 billion
[Read: Best Airline Credit Cards.]
Credit Card Issuers vs. Credit Card Networks
Card issuers are sometimes confused with card networks or co-branded partners, but networks and partners have different functions that can be useful to know.
Most credit card issuers don’t directly process transactions when you use your credit card. Instead, they rely on credit card networks to authorize and process financial transactions. American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa are the main card networks. American Express and Discover are both credit card issuers and credit card networks.
When you make a purchase with an American Express or a Discover credit card, the merchant’s payment system will send the details of the transaction to the card issuer’s payment processing division, which determines whether to approve it.
However, with credit cards that have a Visa or Mastercard logo, the merchant sends the transaction details to Visa or Mastercard, which forwards them to your card issuer to make the decision on whether to approve the transaction. It then relays its decision to Visa or Mastercard, which forwards it to the merchant.
If you have a co-branded airline or hotel card, the credit card issuer manages your account, while the hotel or airline loyalty program maintains your rewards account. The issuer distributes any rewards you earn on your card to the co-branded partner.
Credit Card Issuers Aren’t Equal
Credit card companies may differ by size in customer service capabilities, products and other areas. That’s why knowing which card issuers are the largest and how they stack up in customer satisfaction ratings can be helpful.
“Clients want to know that their bank or card issuer is going to make it easy to conduct business and value your relationship, because that relationship matters,” says Mitch Kime, chief growth officer at Verve, a Credit Union.
Large issuers can offer more products and may have more advanced risk assessment practices. “That means you’re likely to get considerably larger credit limits from a Citibank or Chase card than you are with a local credit union or small bank,” Ulzheimer says.
Rewards and benefits can vary based on the issuer, too. You may find some exceptions, but many credit cards offered by smaller banks and credit unions don’t stack up well in these areas against cards from major credit card companies.
[Read: Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards.]
Choosing the Right Credit Card Issuer
Issuer size is a fairly reliable indicator of a credit card company that can deliver a good experience for cardholders. But consider other factors when you decide which credit card issuers you want to work with. Even major issuers could lack the products you want or fail to meet your customer service priorities.
You may even want to consider a card issuer that offers a wide variety of other financial products and services. “Finding an organization that values your relationship can lead to more opportunities in other servicing and lending needs on your financial journey,” Kime says.
Products may greatly influence your choice of credit card issuer. The largest credit card companies generally offer a variety of cards, but issuer size is just one of many variables to weigh when you choose a new credit card. Explore products from multiple issuers when shopping for a card that meets your needs.
The card issuer may be less important to you than card rewards, benefits or costs such as fees and interest rates. That’s true especially if you’re choosing cards from major issuers that will generally deliver a good customer experience.
Of course, do not overlook customer service ratings for card issuers. You can see how issuers score in the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. Also check the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Consumer Complaint Database to find out what other consumers say about credit card issuers. These sources can indicate specific problems people have had with an issuer and give you an idea of potential drawbacks.
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Update 02/26/25: The story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
