Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Mastercard shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Mastercard offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Mastercard at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Mastercard? Wrong! If the Mastercard is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Mastercard then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Mastercard? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Mastercard and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Mastercard wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Mastercard then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Mastercard site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Mastercard, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Mastercard, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox Company| company_name = MasterCard Inc.| company_logo = | company_type = Public company ()| foundation = 1966| location = Purchase, New York, New York, United States, [President & CEO| products = [Payment systems]300.2 million ( US$44M Fiscal year 2005)| num_employees = 4,300| parent =| subsid =| homepage = www.mastercard.com| footnotes =-->

MasterCard Worldwide () is a mutinational corporation based in Purchase, NY in the United States. Throughout the world, its principal business is to process payments between the banks of merchants and the banks of purchasers that use its "Mastercard" branded debit- and credit cards to make purchases. Mastercard Worldwide has been a publicly traded company since 2006. Prior to its initial public offering, Mastercard Worldwide was a membership organization owned by the 25,000+ financial institutions that issue its card.

It was originally created by United California Bank (later First Interstate Bank, subsequently merged into Wells Fargo Bank), Wells Fargo, Crocker National Bank (also subsequently merged into Wells Fargo), and the Bank of California (subsequently merged into the Union Bank of California) as a competitor to the BankAmericard issued by Bank of America. BankAmericard is now the VISA (credit card) credit card, issued by Visa International.

History The name Master Charge was licensed by the above mentioned California banks from the First National Bank of Louisville, Kentucky in 1967. With the help of New York's Marine Midland Bank, now HSBC Bank USA, these banks joined with the Interbank Card Association (ICA) to create "Master Charge: The Interbank Card".

In 1979, "Master Charge: The Interbank Card" was renamed simply "MasterCard". In the early 1990s MasterCard bought the British Access (credit card) and the Access name was dropped. In 2002, MasterCard International absorbed Europay International, another large credit-card issuer association, which for many years issued cards under the name Eurocard.

In 2006, MasterCard International underwent another name change to MasterCard Worldwide. This was done in order to suggest a more global scale of operations. In addition, the company introduced a new corporate logo adding a third circle to the two that had been used in the past (the familiar card logo, resembling a Venn diagram, remains unchanged). A new corporate tagline was introduced at the same time: "The Heart of Commerce". MasterCard changing name, Jay Loomis, The Journal News, June 28, 2006

Features Most versions of the card include various features such as extended warranties on items bought with the card, Damage waiver on cars rented with the card, and accident insurance during travel bought with the card.

Shareholders Based on an United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing in early 2005, MasterCard's largest current shareholders are:

  • 11.8% - JPMorgan Chase
  • 6.2% - Citigroup
  • 6.0% - Bank of America
  • 5.2% - Euro Kartensysteme
  • 5.0% - Europay France


    • IPO The company, which had been organized as a cooperative of banks, had an IPO on May 25, 2006 at $39.00 USD. The stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol MA.

    Litigation Both MasterCard and Visa have paid approximately $3 billion in damages resulting from a class-action lawsuit filed by Hagens Berman in January 1996. Visa/MasterCard Litigation, January 1st 1996 The litigation cites several retail giants as plaintiffs, including Wal-Mart, Sears Holdings Corporation, and Safeway Inc.. VISA CHECK/MASTERMONEY ANTITRUST LITIGATION WEBSITE

    Advertising MasterCard's current advertising campaign is "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard."

    The first of these Priceless ads was run during the World Series in 1997 and there are numerous different TV, radio and print ads. Priceless Film Festival It was created by McCann-Erickson. MasterCard actually registered Priceless as a trademark. Priceless, Trademark Electronic Search System, Retreieved July 5th 2006 Actor Billy Crudup has been the voice of the ads in the USA since 1997. In other countries the voiceover artist changes to suit the local market; in the UK, for instance, actor Jack Davenport is the voice.

    This campaign attempts to position MasterCard as the friendly credit card company with a sense of humor. They are designed to respond to the public's worry that everything is being commodified, and that people are becoming too materialistic. Priceless, Jim Farrell, New American Dream, Retreieved July 5th 2006Many parodies have been made using this same pattern, especially on Comedy Central, though MasterCard has threatened legal action,Threats of legal action: {{cite web], 2001 ] emerged victorious (after a four-year battle) in the suit MasterCard brought against him after he produced his own "Priceless" political commercials.{{cite web|url=http://lawgeek.typepad.com/lawgeek/LegalDocs/nader_decision.pdf |title=Decision of the US District Court in the case of MasterCard International Incorporated v. Ralph Nader |accessdate= | accessmonthday=July 30 |accessyear=2006 |author=George B. Daniels, District Judge |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=March 9, 2004 |year= |month= |format=PDF |work= |publisher=US District Court, Southern District of New York |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate=-->

    During Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005, a MasterCard commercial was introduced featuring 10 legendary advertising characters from various foods and household products. The characters included Chef Boyardee, Charlie the Tuna, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Count Chocula, the Vlasic pickle stork, the Morton Salt girl, the Jolly Green Giant, Mr. Peanut from Planters, the Gorton's fisherman, and Mr. Clean.

    Sports sponsorship MasterCard currently sponsors the New Zealand All Blacks, the country's world famous rugby union team.http://www.mastercard.com/nz/promotions/allblacks2006/

    MasterCard also sponsors the UEFA Champions League. For many years, it also sponsored FIFA World Cup but withdrew its contract after a court settlement and its rival Visa took up the contract in 2007.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6247928.stm

    It is currently the sponsor of the Memorial Cup Tournament of the Canadian Hockey League. MasterCard has just announced new sponsorship deal with Australian Cricket team.

    In , MasterCard was the main sponsor of the aborted MasterCard Lola Formula One team.

    On October 12, 2007 MasterCard offered $160,000 to the municipal government of Toronto, ON for keeping its ice rinks open, as city is facing a budget shortfall.http://www.mastercard.com/ca/company/en/press/2007/10_12_toronto_skating.html

    Management and Board of Directors Key executives include: MasterCard Investor Relations, accessed 04 November 2006



    As of December 2004, the following banks are represented on MasterCard's board of directors:



    In January 2005, Washington Mutual, the third largest issuer of debit cards in the United States, announced that it was changing its debit-card branding from VISA (credit card) to MasterCard. The change will make Washington Mutual MasterCard's largest bank customer.

    MasterMoney MasterMoney is the branding of a MasterCard debit card distributed in North America. Like many debit cards, the brand has capabilities of being used as an ATM card as well as a credit card, providing sufficient funds are in one's bank account (usually a Checkable deposit) in order to complete a transaction.

    PayPass MasterCard PayPass is a new "contactless" payment feature based on the ISO 14443 standard that provides cardholders with a simpler way to pay by tapping a payment card or other payment device, such as a phone or key fob, on a point-of-sale terminal reader rather than swiping or inserting a card.

    In 2003, MasterCard concluded a nine-month PayPass market trial in Orlando, Florida, with JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and MBNA. More than 16,000 cardholders and more than 60 retailer locations participated in the market trial. In addition, MasterCard worked with Nokia, AT&T Wireless, and JPMorgan Chase to incorporate MasterCard PayPass into mobile phones using Near Field Communication technology, in Dallas, Texas.

    In 2005, MasterCard began to roll out PayPass in certain markets. As of July 2007, the following financial institutions have issued the MasterCard PayPass:

  • Bank of America
  • JPMorgan Chase (available through its "blink technology" contactless feature)
  • Citibank (both MasterCard credit and debit cards)
  • HSBC Bank USA (debit card only)
  • Key Bank (debit card only)
  • Citizens Financial Group (both MasterCard credit and debit cards)
  • Commonwealth Bank (Australia)
  • Garanti Bank (Turkey, available through its Bonus Trink Card)
  • Banco de Oro Universal Bank (Philippines, available through its BDO International ATM Card)
  • Bank of Montreal (Canada, available only if requested by consumer by phone)
  • President's Choice Financial (Canada)
  • Washington Mutual (available only in New York City and Seattle branches)


    • MYplash MYplash is a reloadable gift card, acceptable wherever Mastercard is accepted.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/default.asp|title=MYplash ™ The MasterCard ® Card for Fans|accessdate=2007-08-10-->

    Many of the MYplashes were music themed, other participants including Good Charlotte, Avril Lavigne, and Breaking Benjamin.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/getTheCard.asp|title=get the card|accessdate=2007-08-10--> The idea behind the MYplashes was that parents would like it because it would provide their teens with financial experience with no risk of overspending, as it was not an actual credit card, but rather a reloadable gift card.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/parents.asp|title=parents|accessdate=2007-08-10--> Teens would like the band theme and that they were trusted with money that they could spend freely.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/fans.asp|title=fans|accessdate=2007-08-10-->

    The cards did not prove popular, likely owing to high charges attached to it, including overdraft fees and a 3% to 10% recharge fee, the lowest fee, 3%, only available when loading the card with more than $200.00.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/terms.asp|title=Prepaid Debit Cardholder Agreement|accessdate=2007-08-10--> Under "Appendix 1: Schedule of Fees" in the "Amount Fee/Fee" table, you can calculate: $6.75/$200.01~3% and $1.00/$10.00=10%

    Banknet MasterCard operates Banknet, a global telecommunications network linking all MasterCard card issuers, acquirers and data processing centers into a single financial network. The operations hub is located in St. Louis, Missouri.

    MasterCard's network is significantly different from Visa's. Visa's is a star based system where all endpoints terminate at one of several main data centers, where all transactions are processed centrally. MasterCard's network is an edge based, peer-to-peer network where transactions travel a meshed network directly to other endpoints, without the need to travel to a single point. This allows MasterCard's network to be much more resilient, in that a single failure cannot isolate a large number of endpoints.

    EPSnet MasterCard Europe operates a Network known as EPSnet - this interfaces BankNet but is up for replacement in 2009. EPSnet is used to link Issuers and Acquirers for Online POS/ATM Transaction Processing.

    See also

    References External links

    {{Infobox Company| company_name = MasterCard Inc.| company_logo = | company_type = Public company ()| foundation = 1966| location = Purchase, New York, New York, United States, [President & CEO| products = [Payment systems]300.2 million ( US$44M Fiscal year 2005)| num_employees = 4,300| parent =| subsid =| homepage = www.mastercard.com| footnotes =-->

    MasterCard Worldwide () is a mutinational corporation based in Purchase, NY in the United States. Throughout the world, its principal business is to process payments between the banks of merchants and the banks of purchasers that use its "Mastercard" branded debit- and credit cards to make purchases. Mastercard Worldwide has been a publicly traded company since 2006. Prior to its initial public offering, Mastercard Worldwide was a membership organization owned by the 25,000+ financial institutions that issue its card.

    It was originally created by United California Bank (later First Interstate Bank, subsequently merged into Wells Fargo Bank), Wells Fargo, Crocker National Bank (also subsequently merged into Wells Fargo), and the Bank of California (subsequently merged into the Union Bank of California) as a competitor to the BankAmericard issued by Bank of America. BankAmericard is now the VISA (credit card) credit card, issued by Visa International.

    History The name Master Charge was licensed by the above mentioned California banks from the First National Bank of Louisville, Kentucky in 1967. With the help of New York's Marine Midland Bank, now HSBC Bank USA, these banks joined with the Interbank Card Association (ICA) to create "Master Charge: The Interbank Card".

    In 1979, "Master Charge: The Interbank Card" was renamed simply "MasterCard". In the early 1990s MasterCard bought the British Access (credit card) and the Access name was dropped. In 2002, MasterCard International absorbed Europay International, another large credit-card issuer association, which for many years issued cards under the name Eurocard.

    In 2006, MasterCard International underwent another name change to MasterCard Worldwide. This was done in order to suggest a more global scale of operations. In addition, the company introduced a new corporate logo adding a third circle to the two that had been used in the past (the familiar card logo, resembling a Venn diagram, remains unchanged). A new corporate tagline was introduced at the same time: "The Heart of Commerce". MasterCard changing name, Jay Loomis, The Journal News, June 28, 2006

    Features Most versions of the card include various features such as extended warranties on items bought with the card, Damage waiver on cars rented with the card, and accident insurance during travel bought with the card.

    Shareholders Based on an United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing in early 2005, MasterCard's largest current shareholders are:

  • 11.8% - JPMorgan Chase
  • 6.2% - Citigroup
  • 6.0% - Bank of America
  • 5.2% - Euro Kartensysteme
  • 5.0% - Europay France


    • IPO The company, which had been organized as a cooperative of banks, had an IPO on May 25, 2006 at $39.00 USD. The stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol MA.

    Litigation Both MasterCard and Visa have paid approximately $3 billion in damages resulting from a class-action lawsuit filed by Hagens Berman in January 1996. Visa/MasterCard Litigation, January 1st 1996 The litigation cites several retail giants as plaintiffs, including Wal-Mart, Sears Holdings Corporation, and Safeway Inc.. VISA CHECK/MASTERMONEY ANTITRUST LITIGATION WEBSITE

    Advertising MasterCard's current advertising campaign is "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard."

    The first of these Priceless ads was run during the World Series in 1997 and there are numerous different TV, radio and print ads. Priceless Film Festival It was created by McCann-Erickson. MasterCard actually registered Priceless as a trademark. Priceless, Trademark Electronic Search System, Retreieved July 5th 2006 Actor Billy Crudup has been the voice of the ads in the USA since 1997. In other countries the voiceover artist changes to suit the local market; in the UK, for instance, actor Jack Davenport is the voice.

    This campaign attempts to position MasterCard as the friendly credit card company with a sense of humor. They are designed to respond to the public's worry that everything is being commodified, and that people are becoming too materialistic. Priceless, Jim Farrell, New American Dream, Retreieved July 5th 2006Many parodies have been made using this same pattern, especially on Comedy Central, though MasterCard has threatened legal action,Threats of legal action: {{cite web], 2001 ] emerged victorious (after a four-year battle) in the suit MasterCard brought against him after he produced his own "Priceless" political commercials.{{cite web|url=http://lawgeek.typepad.com/lawgeek/LegalDocs/nader_decision.pdf |title=Decision of the US District Court in the case of MasterCard International Incorporated v. Ralph Nader |accessdate= | accessmonthday=July 30 |accessyear=2006 |author=George B. Daniels, District Judge |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=March 9, 2004 |year= |month= |format=PDF |work= |publisher=US District Court, Southern District of New York |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate=-->

    During Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005, a MasterCard commercial was introduced featuring 10 legendary advertising characters from various foods and household products. The characters included Chef Boyardee, Charlie the Tuna, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Count Chocula, the Vlasic pickle stork, the Morton Salt girl, the Jolly Green Giant, Mr. Peanut from Planters, the Gorton's fisherman, and Mr. Clean.

    Sports sponsorship MasterCard currently sponsors the New Zealand All Blacks, the country's world famous rugby union team.http://www.mastercard.com/nz/promotions/allblacks2006/

    MasterCard also sponsors the UEFA Champions League. For many years, it also sponsored FIFA World Cup but withdrew its contract after a court settlement and its rival Visa took up the contract in 2007.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6247928.stm

    It is currently the sponsor of the Memorial Cup Tournament of the Canadian Hockey League. MasterCard has just announced new sponsorship deal with Australian Cricket team.

    In , MasterCard was the main sponsor of the aborted MasterCard Lola Formula One team.

    On October 12, 2007 MasterCard offered $160,000 to the municipal government of Toronto, ON for keeping its ice rinks open, as city is facing a budget shortfall.http://www.mastercard.com/ca/company/en/press/2007/10_12_toronto_skating.html

    Management and Board of Directors Key executives include: MasterCard Investor Relations, accessed 04 November 2006



    As of December 2004, the following banks are represented on MasterCard's board of directors:



    In January 2005, Washington Mutual, the third largest issuer of debit cards in the United States, announced that it was changing its debit-card branding from VISA (credit card) to MasterCard. The change will make Washington Mutual MasterCard's largest bank customer.

    MasterMoney MasterMoney is the branding of a MasterCard debit card distributed in North America. Like many debit cards, the brand has capabilities of being used as an ATM card as well as a credit card, providing sufficient funds are in one's bank account (usually a Checkable deposit) in order to complete a transaction.

    PayPass MasterCard PayPass is a new "contactless" payment feature based on the ISO 14443 standard that provides cardholders with a simpler way to pay by tapping a payment card or other payment device, such as a phone or key fob, on a point-of-sale terminal reader rather than swiping or inserting a card.

    In 2003, MasterCard concluded a nine-month PayPass market trial in Orlando, Florida, with JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and MBNA. More than 16,000 cardholders and more than 60 retailer locations participated in the market trial. In addition, MasterCard worked with Nokia, AT&T Wireless, and JPMorgan Chase to incorporate MasterCard PayPass into mobile phones using Near Field Communication technology, in Dallas, Texas.

    In 2005, MasterCard began to roll out PayPass in certain markets. As of July 2007, the following financial institutions have issued the MasterCard PayPass:

  • Bank of America
  • JPMorgan Chase (available through its "blink technology" contactless feature)
  • Citibank (both MasterCard credit and debit cards)
  • HSBC Bank USA (debit card only)
  • Key Bank (debit card only)
  • Citizens Financial Group (both MasterCard credit and debit cards)
  • Commonwealth Bank (Australia)
  • Garanti Bank (Turkey, available through its Bonus Trink Card)
  • Banco de Oro Universal Bank (Philippines, available through its BDO International ATM Card)
  • Bank of Montreal (Canada, available only if requested by consumer by phone)
  • President's Choice Financial (Canada)
  • Washington Mutual (available only in New York City and Seattle branches)


    • MYplash MYplash is a reloadable gift card, acceptable wherever Mastercard is accepted.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/default.asp|title=MYplash ™ The MasterCard ® Card for Fans|accessdate=2007-08-10-->

    Many of the MYplashes were music themed, other participants including Good Charlotte, Avril Lavigne, and Breaking Benjamin.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/getTheCard.asp|title=get the card|accessdate=2007-08-10--> The idea behind the MYplashes was that parents would like it because it would provide their teens with financial experience with no risk of overspending, as it was not an actual credit card, but rather a reloadable gift card.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/parents.asp|title=parents|accessdate=2007-08-10--> Teens would like the band theme and that they were trusted with money that they could spend freely.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/fans.asp|title=fans|accessdate=2007-08-10-->

    The cards did not prove popular, likely owing to high charges attached to it, including overdraft fees and a 3% to 10% recharge fee, the lowest fee, 3%, only available when loading the card with more than $200.00.{{cite web|url=http://www.myplash.com/terms.asp|title=Prepaid Debit Cardholder Agreement|accessdate=2007-08-10--> Under "Appendix 1: Schedule of Fees" in the "Amount Fee/Fee" table, you can calculate: $6.75/$200.01~3% and $1.00/$10.00=10%

    Banknet MasterCard operates Banknet, a global telecommunications network linking all MasterCard card issuers, acquirers and data processing centers into a single financial network. The operations hub is located in St. Louis, Missouri.

    MasterCard's network is significantly different from Visa's. Visa's is a star based system where all endpoints terminate at one of several main data centers, where all transactions are processed centrally. MasterCard's network is an edge based, peer-to-peer network where transactions travel a meshed network directly to other endpoints, without the need to travel to a single point. This allows MasterCard's network to be much more resilient, in that a single failure cannot isolate a large number of endpoints.

    EPSnet MasterCard Europe operates a Network known as EPSnet - this interfaces BankNet but is up for replacement in 2009. EPSnet is used to link Issuers and Acquirers for Online POS/ATM Transaction Processing.

    See also

    References External links



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