Mastercard Incorporated, based in Purchase near New York, is a listed payment service provider and employed around 18,600 people in 2019. Alongside VISA, Mastercard is one of the two major international companies for payment cards (credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards).

Mastercard issues licenses to banks all over the world for the issuance of their cards (issuing licenses) and for the recruitment of contractors (acquiring licenses). The acceptance of the Mastercard is around 35 million contracting companies and around one million cash payment offices worldwide (as of 2014).