Whenever you receive a credit card, there may be a small logo in the bottom right hand corner. It may say either MasterCard or Visa or another issuers logo. Visa and MasterCard are the main players in this lucrative arena

So what differentiates Visa and MasterCard card from other cards?

Visa is a well-established company in the credit card industry. With more then 20 million places that accept Visa cards, you can be sure that wherever you go, you can use your Visa credit card. In addition, their cards are accepted at 800,000 cash points worldwide, so you can always draw out some cash when the need arises.

Visa's main competitor is MasterCard; they both provide the same service and are essentially the same. But still you will need to shop around if you plan to apply for a Visa or MasterCard credit card. The standard APR can range from 10% to around 30% depending on which bank finance company are providing it, so it does pay to shop around before making the deciding which credit card to apply for.

Gas cards can offer a good value alternative to the more traditional credit cards.

With some offering good rates of intertest rewards points and options such as "fuel only" to keep spending under contol they are worth thinking about.

Do not just accept the first card you are offered. The rates vary greatly and a little effort and research could save you a lot of money in the long run.

Another important consideration is security

The larger companies such as Visa have introduced the new chip and pin scheme that allows for greater security over our credit cards. This new service was introduced first in France; and within the first year of its use, credit card fraud was reduced by 80%.

That figure sparked the rest of the world into using chip and pin, and if that figure is achieved in other parts of the world, then we can all sleep easier at night knowing that our credit cards are not only being looked after by not only a secure database, but also if someone did steal your credit card, then they would have to guess the PIN code too. With an astronomical number of different possible combinations, it is extremely hard to imagine anyone cracking it in only three tries.

Visa and MasterCard are at the forefront of looking after our credit card safety. With credit cards being issued everyday, they need to keep our trust in them. Visa's business will depend on your trusting Visa; and this is why they will consistently invest in improving the quality and security of their product.