MasterCard Transactions Grow

In a recent press release, MasterCard International announced continued growth in its global charge volume for the first six months of 2003. Cardholders around the world used MasterCard branded cards for 7.1 billion transactions in the first half of 2003, for a total transaction volume of US$595.5 billion, up 6.3% over the same period in 2002. As of June 30, 2003 MasterCard had approximately 25,000 institutions worldwide issuing 606.4 million cards, an 8.7% increase over the same point in 2002. MasterCard products are accepted at 32.8 million locations worldwide, up 15.6% from 2002.

Growth was varied across regions. Gross dollar volume was up 7% in the United States, 15% in Canada, 13.8% in Europe, 26.7% in Latin America, 16.8% in South Asia/Middle East/Africa, and down 7.9% in the Asia/Pacific regions. The decline in the Asia/Pacific region was attributed to the impact of the SARs outbreak and associated travel bans, as well as movement to a local domestic payment brand in China that was mandated by China's Central Bank.