Research Overview:

• During my first visit to Maastricht in early-2024, I was surprised to discover I could not pay in several shops and restaurants with my Visa or Mastercard (Visa/MC) debit cards. These cards are processed through Visa/MCs global card rails (debit + credit) and, at the time, some merchants in the Netherlands were still only accepting Maestro and V-Pay cards, which run through debit-only European networks, already phased out in the majority of European countries.
• I was curious to explore the Netherlands’ status as a historic outlier in Europe for Visa/MC’s global rails, and also the reasons why this is changing/has changed - with a national project underway from the Dutch Payments Association to upgrade payment terminals and bank cards issued in the Netherlands to Visa/MC’s global rails by 2028 (link).
• Applying the STS theory of Large Technical Systems, I studied Visa Inc as a system, and the Netherlands as an environment, asking why the environment was initially resistant to the system, what changed over time, and what can be learnt from this case that might be applicable in wider payments policy contexts.

Theoretical Framework:

• This research applied the theory of Large Technical Systems (LTS) to study Visa Inc in the context of the Dutch payments landscape.

Key Findings:

• The final paper found that diverse technical and non-technical factors could help to explain initial resistance to Visa/MC’s global rails in the Netherlands, their subsequent acceptance, and the corresponding sociotechnical change in the Dutch payments landscape.

Policy Insights:

• This case holds insights for policymakers interested in shaping payments industry landscapes, for example for reasons of competition and/or technological sovereignty and resilience:
• Competition in payments has been a recent focus of UK policy; under the National Payments Vision, the UK government is seeking to promote competition in payments, and activities are also underway to address concerns raised over network sovereignty:

To discuss this topic further or to read the full paper - ‘Technological Momentum and Visa Inc: A Case-Theory Paper on Payment Card Acceptance in the Netherlands’, please contact me on Linkedin.