We understand that Cirrus is the EU. They are not owned by governments; they are owned by shareholders (like pension funds, investment groups like BlackRock and Vanguard, and individual investors). Here is the breakdown of who actually owns and controls these networks: 1. Visa and Mastercard (USA) * Type: Publicly traded corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). * Control: They are governed by their own Boards of Directors and must prioritize profit for their shareholders. * The "Government" Connection: While they aren't government-owned, they are subject to US law. This is the "Geopolitical Insurance" issue: if the US government passes a law or issues a sanction, these private companies must comply, which could mean shutting off service in other countries. 2. JCB (Japan) * Type: Private company. * Control: JCB (Japan Credit Bureau) was founded by a group of Japanese banks (like Sanwa Bank). It remains a private entity, though it has very close ties to the Japanese financial establishment. * Note: You might be thinking of JCB the construction company (the yellow excavators), which is also a private, family-owned British company (the Bamford family). Neither the credit card nor the digger company is government-owned. 3. The "State-Owned" Exceptions There are only a few major payment networks that are government-controlled or heavily state-influenced: * UnionPay (China): This is the closest thing to a state-controlled giant. It was approved by the central bank of China and is owned by a consortium of mostly state-owned banks. * Mir (Russia): Created by the Russian Central Bank specifically to provide "geopolitical insurance" after they were cut off from Visa and Mastercard. * The Digital Euro (Future): This would be the first major European equivalent—a network owned and operated by the European Central Bank (public) rather than private shareholders. Why the difference matters for the "Digital Euro" When a network is publicly owned (like the Digital Euro would be), its primary goal isn't to make a profit or satisfy shareholders; it is to: * Provide a stable public service (like water or roads). * Guarantee privacy (since it doesn't need to sell your data to make money). * Ensure sovereignty (so no foreign power or private CEO can decide to "unplug" the country's economy). ///// Yes, there absolutely was. For a long time, the UK had a very successful independent domestic network called Switch. If you lived in the UK in the 1990s, you likely didn't have a "Visa Debit" card; you had a Switch card.
We understand that Cirrus is the EU. They are not owned by governments; they are owned by shareholders (like pension funds, investment groups like BlackRock and Vanguard, and individual investors). Here is the breakdown of who actually owns and controls these networks: 1. Visa and Mastercard (USA) * Type: Publicly traded corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). * Control: They are governed by their own Boards of Directors and must prioritize profit for their shareholders. * The "Government" Connection: While they aren't government-owned, they are subject to US law. This is the "Geopolitical Insurance" issue: if the US government passes a law or issues a sanction, these private companies must comply, which could mean shutting off service in other countries. 2. JCB (Japan) * Type: Private company. * Control: JCB (Japan Credit Bureau) was founded by a group of Japanese banks (like Sanwa Bank). It remains a private entity, though it has very close ties to the Japanese financial establishment. * Note: You might be thinking of JCB the construction company (the yellow excavators), which is also a private, family-owned British company (the Bamford family). Neither the credit card nor the digger company is government-owned. 3. The "State-Owned" Exceptions There are only a few major payment networks that are government-controlled or heavily state-influenced: * UnionPay (China): This is the closest thing to a state-controlled giant. It was approved by the central bank of China and is owned by a consortium of mostly state-owned banks. * Mir (Russia): Created by the Russian Central Bank specifically to provide "geopolitical insurance" after they were cut off from Visa and Mastercard. * The Digital Euro (Future): This would be the first major European equivalent—a network owned and operated by the European Central Bank (public) rather than private shareholders. Why the difference matters for the "Digital Euro" When a network is publicly owned (like the Digital Euro would be), its primary goal isn't to make a profit or satisfy shareholders; it is to: * Provide a stable public service (like water or roads). * Guarantee privacy (since it doesn't need to sell your data to make money). * Ensure sovereignty (so no foreign power or private CEO can decide to "unplug" the country's economy). ///// Yes, there absolutely was. For a long time, the UK had a very successful independent domestic network called Switch. If you lived in the UK in the 1990s, you likely didn't have a "Visa Debit" card; you had a Switch card.