If VISA is really approved. I am sure it will up 50x from now. Can't wait. But, is the news really next week? 
Not sure, VISA could still block this deal I guess. A lot of legal work.
Why does anyone actually care what happens with visa?
Visa is not a card issuer only a processor. They can not and have never had anything to do with cards issuing, only processing.
To issue cards without a partner one requires a banking licence which is nothing to do with visa- rather the fca or local equivalent
I could think of a scenario where VISA would block a card issuer that doesn't work by the rules.
Yes, I have worked with several Visa banks in my career, and they have a very formal Regulations process (with penalties for violation etc). For On-Boarding they would definitely need all local financial rules satisfied (whether MCO goes through 3rd party, or gets its own banking license).
Something else to consider: some of the big Visa/MC Issuers may try and put pressure to ensure things are 'not too easy' for MCO...if you listen to Kris on podcasts etc, he wants to be the premier Card Product especially for people who travel a lot. This will cut into some of the $$$ of the competition (who make a something like 2.5% from their customers on every foreign currency transaction)