Blockchain vs. Banks: which one has more affordable transaction fees? Maybe one of the issues researchers are trying to solve in blockchain protocols like Bitcoin or Ethereum is removing / decreasing "transaction fees". However, if we compare blockchain transaction fee with traditional centralized bank protocols (Visa or MasterCard) which one has more affordable transaction fee? (Or which one is more expensive? blockchain (bitcoin/Ethereum)? or Visa/MasterCard?)
Bitcoin's blockchain transaction fees are market-based, so they fluctuate based on what fees miners are willing to mine:



Currently, they are around $0.75.

First of all, one major difference is that Bitcoin's fees are flat (not based on the transaction amount) and Visa or Mastercard's interchange fees are percentage-based. This means that the fee for larger transactions on the Bitcoin network are the same for very small transactions. You can find Visa's fees, for example on their website: Visa Interchange Rates, which depend on the type of transaction, but they generally are over 1%. Based on that, any transaction above $75 will be cheaper on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Now, there is a secondary layer network on Bitcoin called the Lightning Network, where you can do microtransactions, which are not all immediately posted to the blockchain, but can have drastically lower fees because nodes have to compete to route payment channels, see Bitcoin Lightning Network Creators: Fees Will Be Effectively Zero. The only time you pay the blockchain tx fee is when the channel is created or closed.