There are two facets to security of a Visa or MasterCard credit card:

  1. Spec security measures
  2. Implement / enforce security measures.

Visa and MasterCard are more or less the same at the spec level for security measures like two factor authentication (2FA). If Visa has VbV for 2FA, MasterCard has MSC for 2FA.

The real difference comes in implementation / enforcement, where Visa / MasterCard allow a lot of discretion to Issuers and Merchants.

Some Issuers / Merchants may implement and enforce 2FA.

Some others may not.

Accordingly, the Visa card issued by one bank A may be more secure than the MasterCard issued by another bank B whereas the Visa card issued by another bank C may be less secure than the MasterCard issued by another bank D.

But the above is moot.

If you go back to a credit card’s raison d’être, the original question is not the right question.

When credit cards were invented, they were meant to replace cash by being as easy to use as cash. If, in the process of fulfilling that goal, a credit card is used fraudulently, the Issuer bank is required to reverse the charge, no questions asked.

Many cardholders don’t know this. Issuers have conveniently flipped the issue to security by layering on more and more security measures. These increase friction, make it inconvenient to use credit cards, and cause a manifold increase in failed payments. But, by making cardholders value security, and by increasing security, banks have coolly transferred their liability for fraud to cardholders.

It might sound counterintuitive but the more secure a credit card is, the more liable the cardholder is for fraud and the more scotfree the bank goes in case a fraud happens.

The really important question is, which card is more convenient.

The answer is unchanged!