Square is probably the biggest game changer here simply because they also have the POS systems in place to just replace visa/MC if they want. They also have a bunch of apps like cash app....which apparently is going to be integrating bitcoin lightning network soon.
You don't understand payments if you think they can just replace Visa/Mastercard. The whole value add of Visa/Mastercard is the networks they have with the hundreds of thousands of banks, etc, which Stripe doesn't have.
Different kind of bank relationship. There are two banking roles involved in card networks: merchant acquirers and consumer card issuers. Visa/MC are the intermediary between them.
Stripe only partners with a merchant acquirer bank. To replace Visa/MC they'd also have to get into the card issuing side of things: get a bank or banks to issue "Stripe cards" and get merchants to start accepting them.
> they also have the POS systems in place to just replace visa/MC if they want.
Yeah, that's not how it works. Banks that issue cards contract with intermediary card networks like Visa/MC, not POS system vendors.
> integrating bitcoin lightning network soon
Been hearing that for years. Basic problem is while merchants would love to have lower fees, consumers don't have a powerful incentive to switch off using cards. The usual argument is they would save ~2% on prices but there is actually evidence that this would't necessarily happen. When Australia regulated down processing fees, the savings were not passed onto consumers.
