Mastercard

In 1953, Diners Club claimed that their card was the first internationally accepted charge card, with businesses in the United Kingdom, Cuba, Canada, and Mexico starting to accept payments from Diners Club cardholders.

Mastercard was established in 1966 as the Interbank Card Association (ICA), later rebranded as Mastercard International Incorporated, to provide a global payment network.

Mastercard was created in 1966 as an association of several banks to compete with Bank of America's BankAmericard (now Visa), providing a global payment network.

In 1967, seventeen bankers gathered in Buffalo, New York to establish a federation aimed at mutually accepting their credit cards.

In 1968, ICA started building a global network by partnering with Banco Nacional in Mexico and forming an alliance with Eurocard in Europe. This marked the beginning of ICA's expansion into different regions.

In 1969, Interbank developed a new national brand, 'Master Charge: The Interbank Card' to create nationwide brand awareness and compete against BankAmericard.

In 1973, Interbank revolutionized its authorization process by establishing a centralized computer network connecting merchants to banks for credit card transactions.

In 1974, the first magnetic stripe was added to the back of credit cards, enhancing authorization efficiency and aiding in the reduction of fraud.

In 1975, the INET system was introduced, enabling electronic exchange among Master Charge members and automating the authorization process, reducing the reliance on mailing credit card slips.

Mastercard, alongside Visa, establishes itself as one of the most well-known brands globally, leveraging strong network effects and dominating the payment processing sector.

In 1981, Mastercard introduced MasterCard Travelers Cheques and launched the Gold MasterCard card, marking its first attempt at market segmentation within the credit card industry.

In 1983, MasterCard International Inc. became the first bank to use holograms as part of their card security.

In 1987, MasterCard made history by becoming the first payment card to be issued in the People's Republic of China. This milestone expanded MasterCard's presence into a key market in Asia.

In 1988, the first MasterCard card was issued in the Soviet Union, marking another significant step in MasterCard's global expansion. This move opened up new opportunities in the Eastern European market.

MasterCard launched Maestro in 1991, which was the world's first online point-of-sale debit network, revolutionizing payment systems.

In 1994, there were 238.9 million MasterCards in circulation globally, with 135.6 million held by Americans.

In 1995, 'Mastercard' was officially registered as a trademark by Mastercard International, Inc.

In January 1996, Mastercard and Visa faced a class-action lawsuit for debit card swipe fee price fixing, resulting in approximately $3 billion in damages paid by both companies. Retail giants like Wal-Mart and Sears were plaintiffs in the litigation.

In 1997, MasterCard took over the Access card; the Access brand was then retired.

In 1998, the Department of Justice sued Mastercard over rules that prevented their issuing banks from doing business with American Express. The lawsuit was won by the Department of Justice in 2001.

In March 2000, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana reviewed a lawsuit involving Mastercard and internet casinos. The plaintiffs accused Mastercard of violating the Federal Wire Act by interacting with online gambling sites outside the US.

On February 23, 2001, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the District Court's ruling in favor of Mastercard. The court clarified that the Wire Act only applied to gambling activities related to a 'sporting event or contest'.

On August 23, 2001, Mastercard International Inc. was sued for violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

In 2002, MasterCard merged with Europay International and transitioned from a membership association to a private share corporation, setting the stage for its future growth.

On November 15, 2004, Mastercard Inc. paid damages to American Express for anticompetitive practices that prevented American Express from issuing cards through U.S. banks, amounting to $1.8 billion for settlement.

On May 25, 2006, MasterCard had an initial public offering, selling 95.5 million shares at $39 each.

In 2008, Mastercard, Comerica Bank, and the U.S. Treasury Department collaborated to establish the Direct Express Debit Mastercard for electronic payments to individuals without bank accounts.

In April 2009, Mastercard reached a settlement with the European Union in an antitrust case, agreeing to reduce debit card swipe fees to 0.2 percent of purchases.

On April 16, 2010, Mastercard introduced a Web shopping mall that aimed to predict cardholders' purchase preferences.

In December 2010, Mastercard blocked all payments to whistleblowing platform WikiLeaks due to claims of illegal activity.

In November 27, 2012, a federal judge granted preliminary approval to a proposed settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by merchants against Mastercard and Visa for alleged price-fixing practices. The settlement amount was $6.24 billion.

In June 2013, Mastercard partnered with British Airways to introduce the Executive Club Multi-currency Cash Passport, enabling members to earn extra points and conduct multi-currency transactions.

In September 2014, Mastercard partnered with Apple to integrate a mobile wallet feature into Apple's devices, facilitating the use of Mastercard and other credit cards.

In late 2015, Citicards in the US ceased issuing Paypass-enabled plastic, but keyfobs were still available upon request. Effective July 16, 2016, Citicards completely stopped supporting Paypass, meaning no new Paypass-enabled hardware was issued to US customers.

In August 2017, Mastercard acquired Brighterion, a company with a portfolio of intellectual property in the areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

After the overturn of PASPA on May 14, 2018, Mastercard provided new guidance to member banks regarding state location restrictions for online sports betting. They clarified that the restrictions apply to the individual placing the wager, not the bank processing the transaction.

A settlement of $6.24 billion was reached, and a court was scheduled to approve or deny the agreement on November 7, 2019, marking a crucial legal development for Mastercard.

In May 2020, Mastercard unveiled the Mastercard Track Business Payment Service, enabling business-to-business payments with improved payment control and supplier visibility.

In December 2020, Mastercard prohibited the use of its credit cards on the adult website Pornhub.

On February 10, 2021, Mastercard declared its backing for cryptocurrencies and planned to enable direct support for select cryptocurrencies on its network later that year.

In June 2022, Mastercard announced that cardholders could now buy NFTs through various NFT scaling platforms.

In September 2022, Mastercard acquired the title sponsorship rights for all international and domestic home matches organized by the Board of Cricket Control in India.

An update on Mastercard was provided on October 27, 2023. The company continues to be a key player in the card processing industry, enabling various payment methods for consumers and merchants.

An overview of the history and revenue generation process of Mastercard, one of the major card processing network giants along with Visa.