By Sergiy Troitskyi in Clients —

Mastercard

American multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card services. Founded in 1966, with headquartered in New York, and operating globally. Its primary business involves processing payments between merchants' banks and the card-issuing banks.

Solutions:

  • P2P payments

American multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card services. Founded in 1966, with headquartered in New York, and operating globally. Its primary business involves processing payments between merchants' banks and the card-issuing banks or credit unions of customers using Mastercard-branded debit, credit, and prepaid cards.

Key Facts

  • Founded: 1966
  • Headquarters: Purchase, New York, USA
  • Industry: Financial services
  • Revenue (2024): $28.2 billion
  • Employees (2024): 35,300
  • Stock Symbol: MA (NYSE)
  • Global Reach: Operates worldwide except in certain regions like Russia and India.

Products and Services

Mastercard offers a range of payment solutions:

  1. Payment Cards:
    • Debit cards, credit cards, and prepaid cards issued in various tiers such as Standard, Gold, Platinum, World, and World Elite.
  2. Contactless Payments:
    • Mastercard Contactless allows users to make payments by tapping cards or devices at point-of-sale terminals.
  3. Digital Wallet Integration:
    • Partnerships with platforms like Apple Pay enable seamless mobile transactions.
  4. Cryptocurrency Support:
    • Mastercard has integrated cryptocurrency transactions into its network and supports NFT purchases through partnerships with crypto firms.

History and Evolution

Mastercard was created as a response to Bank of America's BankAmericard (now Visa). Initially a cooperative owned by over 25,000 financial institutions, it transitioned to a publicly traded company in 2006. Over the years, Mastercard expanded its offerings through acquisitions like DataCash (e-commerce) and Brighterion (AI technology) while entering new markets such as China in 2024.

Competitive Position

Mastercard is one of the largest payment card networks globally, alongside Visa and UnionPay. It processes billions of transactions annually and operates Banknet, a resilient peer-to-peer financial network that connects issuers, acquirers, and data centers worldwide.