--- title: "Visa charges token fees Mastercard does not; UBS sizes the gap before their Oct. 27 and Oct. 29 earnings" description: "UBS says fees on payment tokens could add a low-single-digit contribution to net revenue growth at both card networks, and Visa has announced fees Mastercard has not. Earnings on October 27 and 29 give the first reading." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Economy" published: 2026-10-22T23:20:52.084Z modified: 2026-10-22T23:20:52.084Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/visa-charges-token-fees-mastercard-does-not-ubs-sizes-the-gap-before-their-oct-27-and-oct-29-earnings language: en keywords: "Visa, Mastercard, Payments, Stablecoins, Earnings" --- # Visa charges token fees Mastercard does not; UBS sizes the gap before their Oct. 27 and Oct. 29 earnings > UBS says fees on payment tokens could add a low-single-digit contribution to net revenue growth at both card networks, and Visa has announced fees Mastercard has not. Earnings on October 27 and 29 give the first reading. At participating BILL customers, an AI agent can now approve an invoice, walk into the supplier portal at Billtrust and pay it end to end. [The pilot Visa announced on October 21](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/visa-announces-enhanced-capabilities-bring-110000206.html) does not hand the agent a card number [1]. It hands over a token, the stand-in credential that hides card details, and [Visa](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/visa) says the pilot is live and processing transactions [1]. ## The toll, priced Analysts at UBS, the Swiss bank, [estimate tokenization revenue could contribute a low-single-digit percentage to net revenue growth](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/visa-mastercard-tokenization-fees-could-185400628.html) at both Visa and [Mastercard](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/mastercard) over the medium term, landing in Visa's value-added services line and Mastercard's value-added services and solutions segment [2]. Against the year-ago quarters, one point of growth is worth roughly $102 million a quarter at Visa and $81 million at Mastercard [9][10]. Visa's contribution is already moderately higher, UBS says, because it has fees on the schedule Mastercard lacks: fees on tokenized card-present transactions in the US, a 2027 increase to its Digital Commerce Service Fee, and that fee's expansion into Europe the same year [2]. UBS calls its numbers a first framework, and warns that rebates to partners can claw the fees back [2]. ## Both networks put stablecoin rails into production Mastercard's counter shipped days earlier. Global Money Platform, the first major build on its $1.8 billion BVNK acquisition closed in August, holds fiat and stablecoins side by side behind one API, with Nuvei and [Marqeta](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/marqeta) among the first integrators [4][7]. It added Stablecoin Security, a fraud screen for blockchain-bound funds, building on the screening launch [covered here this week](https://theinference.org/article/mastercard-launches-stablecoin-risk-screening-into-a-payments-market-still-0-03-of-visa-s-volume) [7]. Visa [moved its own Visa Direct stablecoin prefunding out of pilot on October 15](https://theinference.org/article/visa-s-new-stablecoin-rail-is-0-14-percent-of-its-volume-its-stock-just-hit-a-year-high): processor Inyo Global's clients can prefund cross-border payouts with USDC in near real time [3]. *Chart: **The token toll rides a revenue base still growing mid-teens** Line chart showing Visa and Mastercard quarterly net revenue rising from late 2023 through mid-2026, Visa from $8.6 billion to $11.6 billion and Mastercard from $6.5 billion to $9.3 billion.* *Quarterly net revenue, USD billions, from SEC filings. Visa's fiscal year ends September 30; periods shown by calendar quarter. [9][10]* ## The detour pays 4.40% The same week the toll was priced, [SoFi](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/sofi) Bank, a US national bank, launched SoFi Earn, a tokenized deposit paying a 4.40% annual yield, FDIC-insured, convertible one-for-one into SoFiUSD, the stablecoin that already settles SoFi's card program over Mastercard's network [5]. Money that earns bank interest and moves on blockchain rails never buys a network token, and Mastercard's own platform [lists tokenized deposits as a coming supported form of money](https://www.mastercard.com/global/en/news-and-trends/press/2026/october/mastercard-and-bvnk-launch-global-money-platform-to-power-a-mult.html), which puts the network on both sides of the toll [4]. The bypass camp is not the whole story. KeyBanc notes that guidance from a consortium of large banks this year calls for tokenized credentials and enforcement of network rules, which the analysts say supports the toll: the banks are asking for the tokens [7]. [An Axios report of late-stage Visa talks to buy the custody firm Fireblocks](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/22/crypto-custody-specialist-fireblocks-denies-its-in-talks-to-be-acquired-by-visa) for about $2.5 billion drew the reply "This is news to us, and not true"; Visa declined to comment [6][7]. ## Tuesday, then Thursday [Visa reports after the close on Tuesday October 27](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/visa-mastercard-bet-ai-crypto-192534652.html), Mastercard on Thursday October 29 with a 9 a.m [7][8]. ET call [7][8]. The tell is value-added services growth and any tokenization disclosure; Visa shares are already up about 20% since late October 2025, Mastercard about 11% [7]. The agent pays with a token now; next week shows what the token pays the network. ## Takeaway UBS sizes tokenization fees as a low-single-digit contributor to net revenue growth for both card networks, Visa's fee schedule already carries charges Mastercard has not announced, and both networks put stablecoin rails into production before earnings on October 27 and 29. ## Sources 1. [Visa via Business Wire on Yahoo Finance, Visa Announces Enhanced Capabilities That Can Bring Trust and Control to the Future of Business Payments, 21 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/visa-announces-enhanced-capabilities-bring-110000206.html) 2. [Proactive via Yahoo Finance, Visa and Mastercard tokenization fees could support revenue growth, UBS says, 22 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/visa-mastercard-tokenization-fees-could-185400628.html) 3. [PYMNTS, Visa Direct Accelerates Cross-Border Money Movement With Stablecoin Prefunding, 15 October 2026](https://www.pymnts.com/news/cross-border-payments/2026/visa-direct-accelerates-cross-border-money-movement-with-stablecoin-prefunding/) 4. [Mastercard press release, Mastercard and BVNK launch Global Money Platform to power a multi-money world, 15 October 2026](https://www.mastercard.com/global/en/news-and-trends/press/2026/october/mastercard-and-bvnk-launch-global-money-platform-to-power-a-mult.html) 5. [Decrypt, SoFi Launches Tokenized Deposit That Earns 4.4% and Converts to a Stablecoin, 22 October 2026](https://decrypt.co/381174/sofi-launches-tokenized-deposit-that-earns-4-4-and-moves-like-a-stablecoin) 6. [CoinDesk, Crypto custody specialist Fireblocks denies it's in talks to be acquired by Visa, 22 October 2026](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/22/crypto-custody-specialist-fireblocks-denies-its-in-talks-to-be-acquired-by-visa) 7. [American Banker via Yahoo Finance, Visa, Mastercard bet on AI, crypto ahead of earnings, 22 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/visa-mastercard-bet-ai-crypto-192534652.html) 8. [Mastercard, company homepage: third quarter 2026 financial results announcement, accessed 22 October 2026](https://www.mastercard.com/us/en.html) 9. [Visa Inc., quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 22 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001403161) 10. [Mastercard, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 22 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001141391) --- Visa charges token fees Mastercard does not; UBS sizes the gap before their Oct. 27 and Oct. 29 earnings — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/visa-charges-token-fees-mastercard-does-not-ubs-sizes-the-gap-before-their-oct-27-and-oct-29-earnings