I mean the actual reason these companies are able to levy these taxes is because they provide contractual consumer protection. If we had strong consumer protection laws in the US in the first place, there wouldn't be much value left in Visa/MC etc.
Visa/MC are essentially the Uber of credit. The banks provide the credit lines and Visa/MC take a processing fee to use their networks. Amex is a pure play. Paypal in store is one way to avoid the CC network.
I don't think I follow you here. What consumer protections does visa offer me if I am using it as a bank card?
I haven't used a bank card in many years. Is it common for people to use bank cards for general purchases? I believe more people use credit cards now because of the many benefits, including consumer protections.
Yes this is very common. Most people I know use a bank card, which is powered by Visa's payment network, and ran as credit.
Far fewer to almost none, BUT by the same token interchange rates on bank/debit cards are way lower than they are on credit cards.