Mastercard

(NYSE: MA · $595.09 ▲ 1.0%) Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry that runs a network connecting individuals and organisations in more than 210 countries and territories. The company supports a wide range of digital payment choices and aims to make transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible for people, businesses and governments. In the card payments model, networks generally do not lend to consumers directly; banks and other issuers place the network's brand on their cards, while the network handles authorisation and settlement between issuers and acquirers.

Mastercard's consumer offering includes credit, debit and prepaid cards, along with ways to pay such as contactless, Click to Pay and payment passkeys, plus ID theft protection and Priceless Experiences in sports, travel, food and entertainment. For organisations, the company combines its technology, partnerships and networks into products covering consumer and commercial payments, money movement, open finance, cybersecurity and fraud prevention, and insights and intelligence. Alongside its core, commercial and new payment flows, the company provides value-added services aimed at acquiring, engaging and retaining customers by managing fraud and risk, enhancing cybersecurity and improving the digital payments experience.

Mastercard serves financial institutions, small and medium enterprises, large corporations, the public sector, fintechs, acquirers and payment service providers, and healthcare organisations, and runs developer and partner programmes such as Start Path. The company states an ambition, pursued with its customers, to build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper, supported by initiatives including the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Community Pass and the Priceless Planet Coalition. Mastercard describes its values as the Mastercard Way: creating value, growing together and moving fast for its customers and each other.