Mastercard is a payment-processing corporation that offers a range of payment transaction processing and other related-payment services (such as travel-related payments and bookings). It is the second-largest payment-processing corporation worldwide, ranked behind Visa. Mastercard partners with member financial institutions all over the world to offer Mastercard-branded network payment cards. Financial institutions can offer Mastercard’s payment products, like credit and debit cards, and benefits to consumers. Mastercard primarily makes money by charging a fee on payments processed through its network.
History
Mastercard was founded in 1966 as Interbank, an alliance of several regional bankcard associations, in response to the BankAmericard issued by Bank of America, which later became Visa. Prior to its initial public offering, Mastercard Worldwide was a cooperative owned by the more than 25,000 financial institutions that issue its branded cards. Mastercard has been publicly traded since 2006.
Services
Mastercard offers a wide range of products and services to its customers. Some of the products and services offered by Mastercard include:
- Mastercard Data & Services: A tailored portfolio of solutions to address business pain points.
- Mastercard Advisors: Business consulting services that solve challenges using expertise in strategy, analytics, consumer loyalty, risk, sustainability, and payments.
- Cardholder Services: Services designed to fit consumer needs, such as airport lounge benefits, hotel price guarantees, access to exclusive experiences, and more.
- Commercial Card Insights: Provides a comprehensive view into the commercial card market.
- Cyber Front: Helps businesses identify and defend against their most relevant threats through simulating breaches and cyber attacks.
- Digital Labs: Accelerates innovation using Mastercard’s proven innovation tools, processes, and methodologies.
- Global Treasury Intelligence: Analyzes complex payments data to deliver quantified, actionable insights for procurement, treasury, and finance.
- Mastercard Pay with Rewards™: Offers cardholders access to their rewards for anything, any time, at millions of eligible Mastercard locations worldwide.
- Mastercard Promotions: Automatically rewards consumers with card-linked cashback or points to build engagement and retention.
- Mastercard Travel Rewards: Drives card preference and increases cross-border spend with an international offers program.
Financials
As of January 2024, Mastercard is the world’s 19th most valuable company by market capitalization, with a market cap of $393.32 billion. According to analysts, Mastercard’s stock is rated as a strong buy with an average 12-month stock price forecast of $452.71, which predicts an increase of 6.14%.