Or in this case: itch.io switches to CCpay instead of Stripe as mentioned in the article. Because Stripe was actually the problem here, not Visa/Mastercard.
I still will highlight the closure of Manga Library Z (which Visa/Mastercard is to blame). But this itch.io problem was different.
There are more adult oriented payment processors but they usually charge much higher rates because that sector attracts way more "I totally didn't buy that honey it must be fraud, I'm contesting it" that costs them more and they get charged more by the big upstream processors like Visa and Mastercard. Plus you're still liable for their rules the same way itch's current processor is if you want to process their card transactions.
How so? Capitalism itself has created the visa/mastercard duopoly. Capitalism only leads primarily to monopolies and duopolies, hence the problem we're in.
Do you really think there's a shortage of people who would like to start a company that gets an easy 3% per transaction?
The issue isn't at Visa/MC, but the processor. That is why Itch is looking at other processors.
Also, that 3% doesn't go to just Visa/MC and the other card brands.
It goes to the payment gateway, the payment processor, at least one level of sales organization, the merchant bank, and the POS company in the case of in person business. There are several intermediaries that get a slice of the pie.
