Some believe that a payments revolution is underway, one that will upend the controversial business model of the behemoth credit and debit card companies that are so powerful. We've discussed the twists and turns in this nascent market quite a bit. We certainly do not discount Visa, which does not want to see its power and reach diminished as a new payments era opens up.

It has not been blind to the proliferation of smartphones, the rise of  NFC technologies and the ambition shown by banks, start-ups and telecomm firms. Visa expects to rollout a new contactless payment system, called Visa payWave, by the end of the year, which will likely feature some big bank partners like Bank of America and JPMorganChase, notes MarketWatch. This system has been in test mode recently, with decent results. The company is also in talks with various handset makers to ensure that the proper chip sets are embedded.

But NFC-oriented systems using phones with embedded chips is an opportunity that many firms are chasing right now. The Isis network, backed by the big telcos and Discover, looms as a powerful competitor.

Bill Gates used to frequently say how hard it is for a company to maintain dominance as technology paradigms change. IBM couldn't do it. Neither could Microsoft. Google is an open question. So, we'll have to see whether Visa and MasterCard can extend their dominance as the payments paradigm shifts. 

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