MASTER CARDS

Like Visa, MasterCard credit cards have grown to become a driving force at the heart of global commercial transactions and have contributed to making international commerce much faster, convenient, and secure. MasterCard today is accepted in more than 210 countries. The company provides the speedy and reliable electronic processing network that has made it easier and faster than ever before to make a payment, no matter where in the world you are. Mastercard credit cards are popular with consumers because they have the global reach to fit today’s global lifestyle, wherever you may be traveling.

MasterCard Worldwide does not itself issue credit cards or make credit card offers, but rather is a franchisor of MasterCard credit cards and other products and services. It acts as a link between the more than 25,000 financial institutions that are part of its network and the businesses and cardholders these institutions issue credit cards to. Each individual bank or financial institution makes its own decision about how to structure the credit card deals they offer, including setting the APRs, annual fees, and other terms. Because of this flexibility, when you compare MasterCards, you will notice that MasterCards have many different interest rates, and even the same card may have different APRs for purchases, cash advances, balance transfers, and so on.

MasterCard branded cards are offered by financial institutions, banks, brand names, airlines, hotels, universities, charitable organizations and other types of institutions.

MasterCard benefits includes zero liability: unauthorized purchases are not your responsibility, Rent and Repair MasterRental Insurance, extended warranty coverage, purchase assurance coverage, baggage delay coverage, lost or damage luggage coverage, road assist service and numerous other benefits.

Together with its counterpart, Visa, MasterCard has been instrumental in spear-heading the credit card revolution that has unfolded in less than 50 years. The company was founded in 1966 as the Interbank Card Association (ICA), and over the years developed into MasterCard Worldwide, a large, publicly traded company.

MasterCard International is a leading global payments solutions company that provides a broad variety of innovative financial services in many countries worldwide. MasterCard does not issue cards, set annual fees on cards, determine annual percentage rates, solicit merchants to accept cards or set their discount rates. Instead, MasterCard's customer financial institutions manage the relationships with consumers and merchants. Because it is used by banks around the globe MasterCard is one of the most widely recognized credit and debit card brands in the world