In 1997, over $70,000 crores purchases were charged on credit cards, and this

total is increasing at a rate of over 10 percent per year. At first glance, the credit

card market would seem to be a rather concentrated industry. Visa, Master Card,

and American Express are the most familiar names and over 60 percent of all

charges are made using one of these three cards. But on closer examination, the

industry seems to exhibit most of the characteristics