MasterCard news and archive

US Mastercard report: Sales increase over festive season, apparel leads digital sales

This festive season appeared to be a valuable time of the year for US retailers according to preliminary insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse, which reported a year-over-year uptick in retail sales in the region, with a peak coming in the final five days before Christmas. According to the data, US retail sales (excluding automotive) rose 3.8...

RetailFeatured

US fashion retail sales up 4.4 percent during holiday season

Fashion retailers in the US experienced a year-on-year increase in sales during the crucial holiday season, new data reveals. Apparel sales were up 4.4 percent year-on-year in the period between November 1 and December 24, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment and is...

Business

Gap is launching a new credit card to booster loyalty, but who wants it?

Gap Inc is launching a new credit card partnership with Mastercard. It's a chic navy card, minimalist with degradé colour and a simple Gap logo. But the question is: who wants to take out a store credit card in 2022? The news comes as Gap only last year announced Barclays as its official card issuer. The fashion conglomerate, which also operates...

Business

American Express, Visa and Mastercard suspend operations in Russia

Visa, Mastercard and American Express have all suspended operations in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. In a statement, Stephen J. Squeri, chairman and chief executive at American Express, said: “In light of Russia’s ongoing, unjustified attack on the people of Ukraine, we are suspending all operations in Russia. “As a result,...

Business

Debit and credit card issuers hike fees for UK shoppers buying from EU

Times of uncertainty are often windows of opportunity, including Brexit. Credit card giant Mastercard has been called out by the Daily Mail for being opportunist for increasing fees for British shoppers using debit or credit cards to buy from EU-based companies. The increase is thought to be five-fold, according to a report. Most credit cards...

Retail

Visa and Mastercard face paying back billions to retailers for unfair competition

When it comes to how much a retailer must pay a credit card company per transaction is complicated. The card issuer, credit card company and processor all benefit from a per transaction fee and retailers pay different rates based on how the card is processed. However complicated the process is, the UK Supreme Court, Britain’s highest court, has...

BusinessFeatured

Mastercard pilots digital payments to garment workers

Mastercard is teaming up with global apparel companies, Marks and Spencer, Levi Strauss and Co., and VF Corporation, to pilot a scheme to pay garment workers digitally, to ensure that workers receive their wages “securely and consistently”. The new hybrid digital payment initiative, in connection with global nonprofit Business for Social...

Fashion

Rodarte debuts exclusive artist collaboration with Mastercard for Fred Segal

Designer-sister duo Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the creative directors behind Rodarte, presented an‘80s-themed capsule collection in partnership with MADE, a fashion discovery platform through IMG, and Mastercard. For the limited-edition collection, which is available exclusively at Fred Segal, fashion label worked with artist and painter Mari...

Retail

Visa & Mastercard to cut fees on payments made with foreign credit cards in Europe

The European Commission has accepted an offer by Visa and Mastercard to significantly reduce the fee European retailers need to pay to the cardholder’s bank when a tourist or online shopper makes a payment using a credit card issued outside the bloc. Known as Inter-regional interchange fees or inter-regional MIFs, these fees will now be reduced...