Visa/MasterCard Results & the Economy

It never ceases to amaze me how the news media continues to confuse the role of Visa and MasterCard and the Issuers. The other morning on CNBC, the reporter was talking about the great results that both companies had posted "in spite of the economy". As we all know, Visa/MasterCard are in the transaction processing business, not the lending business. The good news for those of us in the electronic payments world is that regardless of the state of the economy, the continued shift from cash and checks to credit and debit cards carrys on. And, while there are things that could be done to make the processing of electronic payments even more efficient (and fair, secure, etc.) for all parties, there is little doubt in my mind that this evolution to electronic payments is a good thing.