What Mastercard does

Mastercard is a publicly-traded global payments network (NYSE: MA) operating in 200+ countries and territories, headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company processes 175B+ transactions annually across 150M+ merchant acceptance locations, generating revenue primarily through transaction-based network fees on payment processing. Q1 2026 net revenue reached $8.40 billion (up 16% YoY) with adjusted EPS of $4.60 (up 23%), building on $33B in FY2025 revenue with 16% growth and a 45% net margin.

The company's technology stack spans a global payments network, multi-rail settlement infrastructure supporting both traditional cards and stablecoins, AI-powered decision intelligence for fraud detection, and a tokenization platform securing 25% of global e-commerce. Core products include Mastercard Move for cross-border money movement across 150+ currencies, Agent Pay for Machines (AP4M) for AI-agent-driven commerce, Click to Pay for passwordless online checkout, and Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) tokenization. Value-added services encompassing cybersecurity (Decision Intelligence, RiskRecon, CipherTrace), loyalty (Rewards Solutions managing 1.8T+ points annually), data analytics (SpendingPulse, Insights & Intelligence), and personalization (Dynamic Yield) grew 22% in Q1 2026.

Mastercard distributes through direct enterprise sales to financial institutions, a tiered partner ecosystem (NEP, Partner Advantage, Engage, Start Path), API-first developer integration via Mastercard Developers, and co-branded card programs with global banks. Customer segments span financial institutions, large corporations, SMEs (65M+ connected since 2020), public sector, fintechs, healthcare, and consumers. Strategic priorities include stablecoin settlement across Polygon, Solana, Arbitrum, Stellar, and XRP Ledger rails; the pending $1.8B BVNK acquisition; emerging-market expansion (India, Africa, Bahrain); and agentic commerce positioning through 30+ Agent Pay partners.

Name

Mastercard

Legal name

Mastercard International Incorporated

Website

https://mastercard.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Mastercard is a global payments network (NYSE: MA) processing 175B+ transactions annually across 200+ countries and 150M+ merchant locations, serving financial institutions, merchants, SMEs, and consumers with card payments, cross-border money movement, AI-powered fraud detection, tokenization, and emerging agentic commerce and stablecoin settlement capabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Services

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (52221), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

akta.pro primary industry

General-Purpose Credit Card Schemes (FSAMAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Commercial & Corporate Card Schemes (FSAMAAAF), Card Clearing & Settlement (Interchange, Network Settlement) (FSABAJAJ), Cross-Border Card-Based Transfers & Multi-Currency Cards (FSAGAKAE), Merchant Acquiring & Card Processing (PSPs) (CRAFALAB), Virtual Card Issuance & Tokenized Corporate Cards (THACAJAA)

Keywords

• Global payment network
• Payment processing services
• Cross-border payments
• Fraud prevention solutions
• Card tokenization platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Purchase

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Transaction-based Payment Network Fees: Mastercard generates revenue primarily through transaction fees on payment processing across its global network, with revenue scaling with global consumer spending and inflation-driven price increases; reported $33 billion in 2025 revenue with 16% growth
2. Value-Added Services: Services revenue from cybersecurity, fraud prevention, AI, loyalty programs, data analytics, and consulting; Mastercard's value-added services grew 22% in Q1 2026, contributing to a 45% net margin
3. Cross-Border Transaction Fees: Revenue from cross-border travel and international transactions, which Mastercard is more dependent on than peers, contributing to uneven quarterly performance; Q1 2026 cross-border volume grew 13%

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Mastercard operates a global payment network spanning 200+ countries, processing 175B+ transactions annually across credit, debit, prepaid, and contactless card rails. The company sells payment processing, network tokenization, cross-border money movement, fraud/cybersecurity intelligence, loyalty/rewards, and open finance APIs to financial institutions, merchants, fintechs, and large corporations, while extending consumer-facing experiences through co-branded card programs and the Priceless platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Priceless: Lifestyle/experiences platform (Priceless.com) connecting cardholders with curated sports, travel, food and entertainment experiences.
• Mastercard Move
• Mastercard Strive
• Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
• Mastercard Priceless Planet Coalition
• Mastercard Community Pass
• Mastercard Digital Doors
• Mastercard Trust Center
• Mastercard Economics Institute
• Mastercard Partner Advantage Program
• Mastercard Start Path
• Mastercard Agent Pay (Agent Pay for Machines / AP4M)
• RiskRecon (My Cyber Risk)

Products and services

• Mastercard Agent Pay (Agent Pay for Machines / AP4M) Enterprise payment service enabling AI agents and connected machines to authorize and settle payments autonomously at machine speed across the Mastercard global network, with Verifiable Intent credentialing, programmable permissioning, and multi-rail settlement supporting cards and stablecoins.
• Mastercard Move Money movement platform reaching 200+ countries and territories, supporting 150+ currencies, enabling real-time account-to-account cross-border payments based on open banking with multi-currency processing and merchant payout network.
• Mastercard Click to Pay Passwordless online checkout solution built on EMVCo Secure Remote Commerce standards, using Mastercard's network tokenization and FIDO authentication for secure and fast online transactions, replacing manual card number entry with tokenized credentials.
• Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) Tokenization Network-level tokenization platform that replaces primary account numbers with one-time transaction tokens across card-on-file, in-app, IoT, and agentic-credential payment flows, securing 25% of global e-commerce transactions and nearly half of European transactions.
• Mastercard Contactless Tap-to-pay NFC payment acceptance standard for face-to-face retail transactions, deployed globally at tens of millions of merchant acceptance points.
• Mastercard Tap on Phone Software-based contactless acceptance that turns NFC-enabled commercial smartphones and tablets into POS terminals, eliminating dedicated hardware for SMB merchants.
• Mastercard Payment Passkeys FIDO-based passkey authentication for online card payments, replacing passwords and OTPs with biometric/device-bound credentials at checkout.
• Mastercard Open Finance Open-banking connectivity and data-sharing platform enabling account-aggregation, payment-initiation, and identity verification use cases for banks, lenders, and fintechs.
• Mastercard Cybersecurity & Fraud Prevention Suite of fraud, identity, and cybersecurity products including AI-powered Decision Intelligence, Ethoca, RiskRecon, My Cyber Risk, and Identity Check, protecting issuers, merchants, and consumers from payment and cyber fraud.
• Mastercard Rewards Solutions (MRS) Loyalty-platform and rewards-services offering that manages 1.8T+ loyalty points annually, providing issuers with loyalty-program design, points-management, and redemption technology.
• Mastercard Insights & Intelligence Suite of analytics, advisory, and AI-driven insights built on Mastercard's 15+ petabytes of proprietary data, used by issuers, merchants, and governments for customer strategy and economic forecasting.
• Mastercard Consumer Acquisition & Engagement Issuer and merchant suite for cardholder acquisition, activation, and engagement combining Dynamic Yield personalization, marketing services, and consulting.
• Mastercard Engage Partner-network platform connecting issuers and merchants with approved third-party solution providers (anti-fraud, tokenization, analytics) for faster integration to the Mastercard network.
• Network Enablement Partners (NEP) Program Program with three tiers (Standard, Advanced, Premium) enabling Service Providers to directly engage with Mastercard and access tools, ICAs, and BINs to issue and process Mastercard cards.
• Priceless.com / Priceless Experiences Consumer-experiences platform offering cardholders exclusive access to events, dining, travel, and sports experiences tied to Mastercard-branded cards, with regional sub-brands including Priceless Africa.

Quantifiable outcome

• $33 billion in 2025 revenue with 16% growth
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration22 records

AI capability15 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Apple Pay and Google PayflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 31 December 2030Mastercard targeting elimination of manual card number entry in e-commerce by 2030 through tokenization, with 25% of global e-commerce transactions already secured; shift concentrates control among device makers and digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay
• RAISE US (Gina Raimondo and Eric Holcomb)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026Mastercard is an anchor partner of RAISE US, a bipartisan nonprofit with over $500M in funding to help American workers adapt to AI-driven job displacement through education, training programs, and employer partnerships; piloting in Arkansas, Maryland, Utah, and Connecticut
• Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 24 June 2026SAIT and Mastercard launched collaborative cybersecurity training program called 'SAIT Cybersecurity Learning Collective, powered by Mastercard,' a 10-week, 80-hour course for small businesses, non-profits, and social enterprises in Western Canada, first cohort starting September 2026. Mastercard is fully funding tuition for eligible participants.
• Government of NigeriaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026Mastercard committed to three-year programme to help Nigerian small businesses build digital capabilities through technical workshops, financial inclusion, and capacity building initiatives, with goals to empower at least 3 million youths in Nigeria's digital economy
• Solana FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2026Mastercard selected Solana as one of eight blockchains for its global stablecoin settlement network. MoneyGram joined Solana Developer Platform alongside Mastercard as early adopter to build compliant financial products. Mastercard integrated Solana for stablecoin settlement and agent payment credential layers.
• Appia Foundation (Linux Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2026Mastercard joined Appia Foundation under the Linux Foundation's Joint Development Foundation to develop open specifications for AI model/system compliance with global standards and regulations across AI supply chain; alongside OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Arm, Ericsson, Siemens
• PaidBy (Xryma Plc)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026PaidBy and Mastercard announced strategic partnership to advance global cross-border A2A payments based on open banking. Combines Mastercard's global connectivity with PaidBy's orchestration, settlement, multi-currency processing, and merchant payout network to enable seamless international transactions. Initially expanding PaidBy's real-time A2A capabilities across Europe and the United Kingdom.
• EQ Bank (Equitable Bank)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026EQ Bank launched EQ Bank Business Card, a prepaid Mastercard for Canadian small business owners with 2.25% interest on balances, 1% cashback, zero annual or monthly fees, and low FX fees
• Ant InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026Clip's Mi Clip digital wallet launched through partnership with Ant International, Mastercard, and Televisa-Univision, integrating Alipay+ for international interoperability with future plans for AI innovations and agentic commerce
• IMTIAZ (BCFC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026IMTIAZ (commercial brand of Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company) launched Mastercard Click to Pay in Bahrain, using Mastercard's network tokenization and EMVCo authentication standards embedded directly into IMTIAZ's Sahel app
• MetaMaskcoreTechnology or Integration · 13 June 2026MetaMask expanded its Mastercard-backed crypto debit card to 13 new countries in Latin America including Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay. Card offers 1% cashback in mUSD stablecoin.
• TeldaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2026Telda announced partnership with Mastercard to launch an integrated financial services solution combining payments and investment features within its mobile app for Egyptian consumers
• Visa (merchant settlement)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2026U.S. judge granted preliminary approval to proposed multibillion-dollar antitrust settlement between Mastercard, Visa, and millions of merchants over credit card processing fees, moving long-running dispute closer to resolution; settlement value is $38 billion
• RippleflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2026Ripple joined Mastercard's Agent Pay for Machines initiative as a launch partner with over 30 partners including Adyen, Stripe, Coinbase, Cloudflare, OKX, and Checkout.com. Ripple released the XRPL AI Starter Kit enabling AI agents to send/receive payments via XRP and RLUSD using x402 protocol; Mastercard integrated XRP Ledger and RLUSD as settlement rails.
• Banco Santander (Getnet)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2026Getnet (Santander's global merchant payments platform) launched infrastructure enabling AI agent payment processing, partnering with Mastercard and Mexican fintech Neivor to successfully process a real-world transaction via Mastercard Agent Pay in Mexico and Latin America. Santander became first European bank to test payments with AI agents in partnership with Mastercard.
• Polygon LabscoreTechnology or Integration · 3 June 2026Mastercard expanded onchain card settlement to the Polygon blockchain on June 3, 2026, becoming the chain's largest payments partner by processing payments around the clock using regulated stablecoins. Polygon shut down zkEVM Mainnet sequencer on June 15, 2026 as part of strategic pivot to Open Money Stack.
• JD.comflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2026Mastercard and JD.com announced strategic partnership on May 15, 2026 focused on payment infrastructure, cross-border commerce, and fraud prevention. Initial work centers on supporting JD.com's international business, expanding payment options for overseas visitors in China, and exploring cross-border supply chain finance ecosystem for SMEs. Plans include agentic AI-powered purchasing through Mastercard Agent Pay and expanded co-branded card initiatives.
• Standard CharteredcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStandard Chartered developed 'A Seat, Beyond' programme in partnership with Mastercard, offering events, travel privileges, dining reservations, and lifestyle benefits for Beyond Credit Card holders in Singapore and overseas. Standard Chartered hosted client event at National Gallery Singapore featuring Steven Bartlett.
• InbursaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInbursa and Aeroméxico launched co-branded debit and credit cards backed by Mastercard. Credit card tiers Ascend, Elevate, and Horizon with annual fees 1,650-8,100 pesos plus VAT and welcome bonuses 5,000-30,000 reward points.
• JPMorgan ChaseflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJPMorgan, Mastercard, Ondo Finance, and Ripple completed a test on the XRP Ledger on June 12, 2026, that issued and redeemed a tokenized US Treasury fund, compressing settlement from 3-5 business days to roughly 5 seconds. Mastercard expanding USDC settlement infrastructure for acquirers.
• OKXcoreTechnology or IntegrationOKX's Mastercard-linked stablecoin card is processing approximately $1.5 billion monthly in European spending (annualizing to $18 billion). The card operates under MiCA and PSD2 compliance through OKX's payments institution license in Malta, converting stablecoin balances into regulated fiat transactions.

Scale indicators21 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Visa: Visa is a global card network and Mastercard's primary direct competitor in payment processing, offering similar issuing, acquiring, and cross-border services with comparable scale and global reach.
• American Express: American Express operates a closed-loop card network competing with Mastercard in consumer and commercial payments, with a stronger position in premium and corporate card segments.
• Discover Financial Services: Discover operates its own card network and competes with Mastercard in U.S. card issuance, acquiring, and payment processing.
• PayPal: PayPal is a digital payments platform that competes with Mastercard in online checkout, P2P transfers, and merchant acquiring, with a focus on digital wallet and online commerce.
• Adyen: Adyen is a global payment processor that competes with Mastercard in merchant acquiring and unified commerce, with a focus on enterprise and platform businesses.
• Stripe: Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform that competes with Mastercard in online payment processing, with a strong developer focus and growing presence in cross-border and embedded finance.
• Block: Block (formerly Square) is a fintech that competes with Mastercard through Square seller processing, Cash App, and emerging Bitcoin and stablecoin initiatives.
• Fiserv: Fiserv is a financial technology provider that competes with Mastercard in merchant acquiring, issuer processing, and payment network services, with a strong bank channel presence.
• Worldpay: Worldpay is a global payment processor that competes with Mastercard in merchant acquiring, with strength in enterprise and omnichannel commerce.

Broad incumbents

• JPMorgan Chase: JPMorgan Chase is a broad incumbent financial institution that operates its own card network (Chase) and competes with Mastercard in issuing, acquiring, and payment processing, with a much broader commercial and investment banking portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mastercardbr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MasterCard
• Facebookfacebook.com/MasterCardUS?brand_redir=1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mastercard

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A31 records

Investments143 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mastercard