<prompt> Human: I know its an incredibly ignorant question, but Ive been sheltered by my family, and I want to get one from my local bank so I can purchase things online. Its surprisingly difficult to get straight answers to my questions. Specifically I want to know what the difference is between Mastercard, Visa, American Express etc. And what the process is of paying it back once Ive borrowed the money. And how does getting better credit work? I live in Canada if that changes anything.  <response>: Mastercard, Visa, American Express aka Amex, and Discover are the 4 major payment networks. They handle the infrastructure so that you can swipe a debit or credit card, and the merchant gets paid.These 4 payment networks dont issue the card; credit cards are issued by banks e.g. Chase, Citi, Bank of America, etc. 2 of the payment networks Discover and Amex have their own banks. In fact, Discover offers a checking account if you want one.Mastercard and Visa are mostly interchangeable in the sense that theyre very widely accepted in most places. Discover and Amex are less widely accepted. You can tell whether any of these networks are accepted by looking at stickers or other signs near check-out locations e.g. by the register.You get sent a bill a monthly statement each month, where youre required to pay some amount of money from X to Y, where X is the minimum payment and Y is the actual amount of money you spent during that month. If you pay Y that is, you pay in full, then you dont pay any interest. If you pay less than Y, then you have to pay interest on your purchases; your interest rate the APR will be clearly disclosed when you receive the credit card.You get better credit by not missing or making late payments. A late payment is one that is made after the payment deadline, which is typically about 20 days after the monthly statement. 