excuse my ignorance but what is the difference?
VISA and Mastercard gift cards are issued by various banks. Many people were having problems with card balances suddenly going to zero (ie, fraud) on Mastercard gift cards. It turns out that only the Mastercard gift cards that were issued by USBank were problematic, while those issued by MetaBank were ok. Stop and Shop and Staples have been carrying VISA gift cards issued by MetaBank and for some time now, they seem to have switched over to Mastercard gift cards that are issued by MetaBank, as well.