Mastercard

Mastercard is a payments technology company based in Purchase, New York. It began in 1966 when a group of California banks formed the Interbank Card Association to compete with BankAmericard. The product was first called Master Charge and was renamed Mastercard in 1979.

Like Visa, Mastercard runs a network and does not lend to cardholders. Banks issue the cards, and Mastercard routes and settles transactions between them and merchants. It earns fees from banks and merchants. The brand covers credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as Maestro, which is being phased out.

Mastercard also offers fraud detection, digital identity tools, open banking services and data analytics. Its Priceless advertising campaign has run since 1997. The company became a public corporation in 2006. Interchange fees have led to many lawsuits and settlements with merchants in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. Michael Miebach is chief executive. Mastercard operates in over two hundred countries and territories. It has bought firms such as Vocalink, Ekata and Recorded Future, adding payment infrastructure, identity data and threat intelligence.