title: Card association
text: # Card association
  
  A card association or a bank card association is a network of issuing banks and acquiring banks that process payment cards of a specific brand.
  
  ## Examples
  
  Familiar payment card association brands include UnionPay, RuPay, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, Troy and JCB.
  
  While once card associations, Visa and Mastercard have both become publicly traded companies.
  
  ## Statistics
  
  Among United States consumers alone, over 600 million payment cards are in circulation.
  
  