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March 24, 2025
On the wires
Porter Airlines, BMO and Mastercard Launch First Canadian Credit Card Program Granting Immediate Airline Loyalty Benefits
Business Wire
"Porter Airlines, BMO and Mastercard are announcing the launch of two new BMO VIPorter Mastercard credit cards – creating the first and only travel credit card program in Canada that grants immediate frequent flyer benefits for cardholders in an airline’s loyalty program, while enabling accelerated travel rewards. More than 30,000 people have joined the pre-launch waitlist since the program was announced in January 2025."
March 17, 2025
On the web
Mastercard Open Banking Collaborates With Virgin Money on Account Aggregation
Open Banking Expo
"A new partnership between UK-based Virgin Money and Mastercard will enable the bank’s customers to view their credit card and current account balances and transactions from other banks in one place on the Virgin Money Credit Card app. Mastercard’s Open Banking technology is behind the account aggregation solution, which is designed to make it easier for Virgin Money customers to manage their finances."
March 14, 2025
On the web
Open Banking 2025 Thoughts & Trends
Finicity
"As we head into the new year, we are highlighting a few topics that are top of mind for Mastercard Open Banking, and how we see the Open Banking landscape evolving over the next 12-24 months."
March 13, 2025
On the web
Global Mastercard Outage Leaves Customers Unable to Make Payments
Mail Online
"Mastercard users all over the world reported being unable to make online or in-person payments early Sunday morning. Hundreds of people in as many as 65 countries - including the United States, Japan, Italy and Australia - all experienced a loss in services for a brief but troubling period, according to DownDetector, a website that catalogues real-time reports of issues and outages. Mastercard told Fox Business there was a glitch affecting transactions that has since been resolved."
Contactless 101: What You Need to Know About Tap and Go
Mastercard
"Tap and go — also known as contactless payments — account for more than two in every three in-person transactions globally on Mastercard’s network, up from one in three prior to the pandemic. That spike in adoption can be attributed to two major factors. First, shoppers and merchants were both seeking touch-free ways to transact amid the global pandemic."
March 11, 2025
On the web
Mastercard, Visa Pledge Vigilance Following Investigation Into Payments to Illegal Gambling Sites
CDC Gaming
"Mastercard and Visa are probing claims that illegal gambling websites facilitated deposits through their networks. An investigation into the sites found that Mastercard and Visa were failing to prevent their networks from being used for those transactions, The Guardian reported last week."
March 6, 2025
Top Post
Visa and Mastercard Face Regulatory ‘Remedies’ Over Lack of Competition [UK]
MSN
"The UK payments regulator has warned Visa and Mastercard it will introduce “remedies” to tackle a lack of competition and transparency in the card payments market that it said was costing British businesses millions of pounds a year. Visa and Mastercard, which account for 95 per cent of all debit and credit card payments in the UK, have increased the fees they charge merchants by 25 per cent above inflation since 2017, costing UK businesses £170mn, the Payment Systems Regulator said on Thursday."
February 25, 2025
On the web
New Mastercard Research: Consumers in Canada Worry About the Impact of Fraud on Financial Health
Mastercard
"In a constantly evolving digital world, fraud threats seem to be coming from every direction, making it more challenging for Canadians to feel and remain secure. Launching ahead of Fraud Prevention Month in March, Mastercard’s new nationwide survey reveals that despite 89 per cent of Canadians recognizing the growing threat of financial fraud to individual and community prosperity, only seven per cent prioritize prevention."
February 24, 2025
On the web
Mastercard Move and ACE Money Transfer Make Sending Money Across Borders Easier and Faster
Yahoo Finance
"ACE Money Transfer announced a collaboration with Mastercard Move, that will enable its customers to send money to some of the world's biggest markets in near real-time. ACE customers in the UK, Australia, Canada, and Europe will now be able to make fast, secure, and convenient transfers to India, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and other countries in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)."
On the wires
Mastercard Settlement Approved by UK Court Despite Funders’ Opposition
Reuters
"Mastercard's agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit brought on behalf of British consumers was approved by a London tribunal despite opposition from the firm that funded the litigation. The global payments processor said the Competition Appeal Tribunal had approved an agreement it announced in December to settle the long-running litigation over card fees for 200 million pounds ($253 million)."
February 20, 2025
On the wires
Mastercard Business Builder Program Fuels Creator Growth
Business WIre
"Mastercard unveiled its Business Builder debit and credit card products, designed to meet the needs of Creators. The Business Builder cards are designed to offer a suite of powerful benefits that help entrepreneurs launch and scale their ventures, with intentional resources designed for the needs of Creators."
February 19, 2025
On the web
Mastercard Says It Has Moved Beyond Experimentation in Crypto, Focused on 'Real Solutions'
CoinDesk
Traditional finance firms that have adopted crypto are moving past the experimentation phase and are actively working on solutions. Last week, the payments giant announced a partnership with crypto compliance firm Notabene, which will integrate Mastercard’s Crypto Credential into its SafeTransact platform to make digital asset transactions more secure and user-friendly.
Consumers Demand More Choice & Control Over How They Check Out
Mastercard
Mastercard is launching Mastercard One Credential, a single digitally connected credential with multiple ways to pay. With One Credential, consumers will be able to choose the payment option (which may include debit, installments, prepaid and credit) that’s best for them, all through a seamless digital experience.
February 18, 2025
On the web
Mastercard and Feedzai Join Forces to Protect More Consumers and Businesses from Scams
Mastercard
"Mastercard and Feedzai announced they are joining forces to make it easier for more banks to identify and stop scams, protecting consumers and businesses globally. The companies will expedite the deployment of Mastercard’s Consumer Fraud Risk (CFR) solution to customers across many key markets globally."
February 7, 2025
On the web
Open Banking 2025 Thoughts & Trends
Finicity
"As we head into the new year, we are highlighting a few topics that are top of mind for Mastercard Open Banking, and how we see the Open Banking landscape evolving over the next 12-24 months."
January 31, 2025
On the web
What Is the Future for Payments? Mastercard Thinks It’s Tokenization [Video]
WIRED Middle East
"Is tokenization the key to a more secure and reliable future for payments? At EDGE 2024, Jorn Lambert , Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer, shared his insights on how tokens will influence the movement of money in the evolving digital economy, supported by safe biometric authentication."
January 30, 2025
On the web
Your Next Credit Card Might Not Have Any Numbers. Here’s Why
The Sydney Morning Herald
"Mastercard has revealed plans to entirely remove digits from physical credit and debit cards in Australia, a move the payments giant said would help reduce fraud and minimize consumers’ exposure to mass data breaches. Key to those plans is an elimination of the traditional 16-digit number from physical credit and debit cards by 2030, which are to be replaced by tokenisation and biometric authentication."
January 22, 2025
On the web
Mastercard Pilots Tap to Pay for Ecommerce and In-App Payments [Brazil & Hong Kong]
NFCW
"Mastercard is testing a new service that enables cardholders to simply tap their contactless bank card to their NFC smartphone in order to complete an ecommerce or other card-not-present transaction. The new Tap to Pay service is being piloted by Ingresse in Brazil and also by food and beverage (F&B) platform OpenRice in Hong Kong and It forms part of a new ‘Tap to More’ service suite."
January 16, 2025
On the web
Digitalizing the Public Purse: The Next Generation of G2P Payments
Mastercard
"Mastercard for Government’s new two-part white paper, “Digitalizing the public purse,” explores how payment flows to and from government can harness digital payments."
Mastercard and FreedomPay Unlock Global Commerce With New Payment Gateway Partnership
FreedomPay
"FreedomPay announced a strategic alliance with Mastercard. This collaboration will provide businesses worldwide with a global payment gateway solution, streamlining their ability to connect with acquirers and accept a wider range of payment methods."
January 10, 2025
On the web
Mastercard Crypto Credential Launches in the UAE and Kazakhstan, Simplifying Cryptocurrency Transactions
Mastercard
"Mastercard has introduced the latest expansion of its innovative Mastercard Crypto Credential solution to the UAE and Kazakhstan, marking its debut in the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) region."
December 12, 2024
On the web
10 Top Payments Trends for 2025 — And Beyond
Mastercard
"Within just the past few years, payments have transformed entirely — tap to pay has become even more prevalent, traditional financial institutions are exploring blockchain, and generative AI is emerging as critical to boosting fraud protection rates by as much as 300%. Borders are no longer barriers to global trade, instant access to earnings is the expectation, not a perk, and paper checks and physical wallets are fast becoming museum pieces — at least among the youngest of us."
December 5, 2024
On the web
Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth Announce AI2AI Challenge Awardees
Mastercard
"The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and data.org today announced the five awardees of the Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate Inclusion (AI2AI) Challenge, a global call for AI solutions that advance inclusion and economic empowerment."
December 4, 2024
On the wires
Mastercard Reaches ‘Agreement in Principle’ to Settle Mass UK Fees Case
Reuters
"Mastercard has reached an agreement in principle to settle a collective London lawsuit brought on behalf of British consumers over card fees. The global payments processor was facing a lawsuit brought by consumer champion Walter Merricks on behalf of approximately 46 million adults in the United Kingdom."
December 2, 2024
On the web
Mastercard Spendingpulse: Us Black Friday Retail Sales up +3.4% vs. Last Year
Mastercard
"According to preliminary insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse™, U.S. retail sales excluding automotive were up +3.4% on Black Friday, November 29 compared to Black Friday 2023. Mastercard SpendingPulse measures in-store and online retail sales, representing all payment types, and is not adjusted for inflation."
November 22, 2024
Top Post
Mastercard’s MTM Connects to J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments for Settlement
Mastercard
"Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network (MTN) has connected to Kinexys Digital Payments as a payment settlement solution to enhance the availability of B2B cross-border payments to business applications on MTN. Kinexys Digital Payments is a next-generation payment rail powering real-time value transfer using commercial bank money, offered through Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, the firm’s blockchain business unit."
November 20, 2024
On the web
Unwrapping 2024 Canadian Holiday Shopping Trends
Mastercard
"This holiday season, from November 1 to December 24, Canadian total retail sales are expected to increase 2.2% year-over-year (YoY), according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment. In-store shopping is expected to continue to outperform online sales this year, as consumers look to maximize budgets browsing through brick-and-mortar storefronts for sales."
November 15, 2024
On the web
Mastercard Extends Live Music Footprint With New U.S. Benefits for Cardholders
Mastercard
"Beginning early 2025, Mastercard cardholders will gain exciting access to tickets and Priceless Experiences at major music venues and festivals in the U.S."
November 14, 2024
On the web
Mastercard Reinvents Checkout With Password and Number Free Payments
Mastercard
"By 2030, Mastercard aims to eliminate the need for manual card entry and one-time or static passwords by combining tokenization, introduced ten years ago to protect sensitive personal and payment data, with biometric authentication for secure, seamless checkout."
November 13, 2024
On the web
Mastercard Launches ‘Pay Local,’ Linking Its Cards to 4 Major Asian e-Wallets
Fintech Singapore
"Mastercard has unveiled “Pay Local,” a new service that allows travelers to use their existing credit or debit cards within popular Asian digital wallets. The service will be integrated by prominent digital wallets in the region, including DANA in Indonesia, Touch ‘n Go in Malaysia, Bakong in Cambodia, and LankaPay in Sri Lanka."
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