If it becomes a systemic problem, the CC companies will absolutely drop merchants or entire industries.
CC companies, especially in the states, almost always favor the cardholder over the merchant.
CC companies, especially in the states, almost always favor the cardholder over the merchant.
Your card provider needs to keep you happy far more than your card provider needs to keep Uber happy.
With Uber, there simply isn't an alternative. If they don't accept Visa then i can't use a credit card (or most debit cards, since those go through the visa network too) and there isn't a reasonable way for me to pay at all.
Uber takes Paypal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay too. Any would let you use a bank account. You can also deposit cash into PayPal and I think Venmo as well.
They (in collusion with MasterCard) could jack up prices and then there's be an antitrust case against them.
Here's the thing, though - as long as they don't abuse their duopoly position, those anti-trust cases are weaker. And a policy of preferring to side with the customer in these disputes is not exactly viewed as abuse of the monopoly position.
Visa/MasterCard/Discover/etc are little more than clearing houses.
Banks serve as both issuers (to the consumer) and processors (to the merchant), often times both.
Wells Fargo might underwrite the credit on my credit card, but I would immediately cancel that line of credit if it wasn’t accessible through the Visa network.
The value of a credit card isn’t just the line of credit, it is the near universal and frictionless acceptance as a method of payment.
[0] https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/uber-loses-appeal-b...