Mastercard information

Mastercard incorporated is owned by more than 25,000 financial institutions that issue the card and thus it is a membership organization. Master Card is the company’s credit card brand. Mastercard was originally created by Crocker Bank, Wells Fargo, United California Bank, and the Bank of California in order to compete with Bank of America’s credit card the BankAmericard. Bank of America now has a VISA credit card compliments of Visa International. The original name of the card was Master Charge and was licensed in 1967 by 3 banks. The catch phrase was ‘Master Charge; The Interbank Card’. By 1979 the card was renamed to MasterCard and in 2002 it enveloped Europay Inernational – another credit card issuer organization. In 2006 the company offered an IPO under the MA symbol. The current shareholders of MasterCard (as of 2005) are:

1. JPMorgan Chase - 11.8%
2. Citigroup - 6.2%
3. Bank of America - 6%
4. Euro Kartensysteme - 5.2%
5. Europay France - 5.0%

One of the newer features on the MasterCard is the PayPass which allows cardholders to pay via a phone or key fob instead of swiping a card. For more information about MasterCard features, interest rates, eligibility, or credit card applications please visit the official mastercard website at http://www.mastercard.com/

Types of MasterCards

Chase MasterCard
Mosaik MasterCard
IPO Master Card
MasterCard gift card
Platinum MasterCard
Gold MasterCard
Silver MasterCard
Sears MasterCard
Citibank MasterCard
Citi MasterCard
Sears Gold MasterCard
Green Dot MasterCard
Prepaid MasterCard
MBNA MasterCard
Household bank MasterCard
Free and clear MasterCard
Debit Mega Reward MasterCard
BMO MasterCard
American Airlines MasterCard
GM MasterCard
US Airways MasterCard