Mastercard

Peru has reached 1B real-time payment transactions, a milestone that shows instant payments don’t win on speed alone. They win on interoperability, and Peru is a powerful example. The country’s clearing house and payments operator, CCE, sits at the center of the ecosystem, connecting 35+ financial institutions. CCE began modernizing real-time payments in 2016, and as expectations shifted to 24/7/365, the priority became clear: build an instant payments infrastructure that can scale, stay resilient, and bring more participants into the network. So what helped adoption accelerate? • Interoperability across banks, fintechs, and digital wallets • A sponsor model that enabled smaller fintechs to participate safely • Everyday use cases like QR-based person-to-merchant payments Since IPS launched in 2022, volumes have grown 5x+, culminating in 1B RTP transactions. Read the full case study here: https://lnkd.in/eKKvXU3d #RealTimePayments #InstantPayments #Interoperability #Payments #Fintech #Peru

This week’s edition of ‘Inside the Circle’ is all about turning AI potential into real-world performance.    In a new perspective, Greg Ulrich explains why trust, governance and discipline are critical when AI operates at scale — especially in high-stakes moments like payments and fraud. And Janet George, MSCS explores how organizations can move from experimentation to consistent, repeatable value.    Proof point? In India, Buzzworthy Ventures’ Beekind platform is helping rural beekeepers improve hive health and incomes through a human-in-the-loop AI platform.    Also inside:  💳 New small business cards from Amazon Business on the Mastercard network  📊 53% of new U.S. apparel businesses are fully online, per the Mastercard Economics Institute  🧠 AI-powered travel and expense innovation with SAP Concur  🛡 A closer look at agentic commerce — and how trust is built into every transaction    Plus: Why language matters in fraud prevention, with insights from Dr Elisabeth Carter.    #MastercardEconomicsInstitute #AgenticCommerce #AI #FraudPrevention  

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities - driving innovation, creating jobs, and showing remarkable resilience through constant change. At Mastercard, our commitment is simple: listen closely, partner intentionally, and deliver tools that help entrepreneurs operate with confidence and grow on their own terms. That’s why we’re proud to partner with Amazon and U.S. Bank on the next chapter of business payments. This spring, Amazon will introduce a new Prime Business Card and Amazon Business Card for U.S. customers - issued by U.S. Bank exclusively part of the Mastercard network - bringing more rewards, flexibility, and features designed specifically for small businesses. With these new cards, business owners can earn meaningful rewards whether they’re shopping on Amazon or beyond, benefit from flexible credit terms, and manage spending more easily - all with no annual fees. We look forward to the launch in the coming months and building a card program that meets entrepreneurs where they are - simple to use, globally accepted, and built for how small businesses grow today. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ezwpiqEE

In the latest episode of Your Personal Economist, produced by Mastercard in partnership with MoneyLion and Malka Media, Michelle Meyer, Chief Economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute, breaks down why the U.S. economy feels uneven right now and what’s driving those differences beneath the surface.   Population shifts and business migration are reshaping local economies, fueling stronger growth and spending in some states while others experience slower momentum. These regional dynamics help explain why economic conditions can feel mixed, even when national indicators suggest stability.   This episode explores how population and business migration are reshaping regional economies, why spending and growth look stronger in some states than others, and how local economic realities roll up into a broader national picture.   Watch the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/e23jj9SV   #YourPersonalEconomist #MastercardEconomicsInstitute #EconomicInsight

Small businesses have entered 2026 on steadier footing — but stability alone won’t define success. Insights from the Mastercard Economics Institute, shared by Mark Barnett in Entrepreneur Media, point to a clear shift: resilience today is being built through smarter, more connected ways of operating. From digital-first models to faster cross-border payments, the businesses pulling ahead are: ✔️ Reaching customers globally, without added overhead ✔️ Using data to better manage cash flow ✔️ Treating cybersecurity as a proactive investment — not a reactive one As consumer demand remains resilient and macro conditions stabilize, the opportunity is clear — but so is the expectation to adapt. At Mastercard, we’re focused on helping the small business community turn these shifts into growth — with the tools, insights and payments infrastructure to move faster, operate smarter, and scale with confidence. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ezCCCSHE

Not all fraud comes from bad actors hiding in the shadows… Some of the fastest-growing losses are tied to everyday transactions and subtle behaviors that often go unnoticed until they scale. First-party fraud sits in a gray area where legitimate customers engage in actions that create real financial impact for merchants. While the intent may not be malicious, traditional systems weren’t built to tell the difference. That’s why prevention is shifting toward smarter verification, better signals, and clearer identification of not only what happened, but the intent behind it. Through the Mastercard First-Party Trust Program, organizations are rethinking how they approach dispute management and returns by leveraging data, transaction-level insights, and AI to distinguish between genuine claims and misuse. Effective fraud prevention today requires more nuance, not just stricter controls. With better transparency for both merchants and consumers, trust is maintained across the payments ecosystem and we all win. Seckin Yilgoren #FraudPreventionMonth #FirstPartyFraud

Fraud is no longer a series of isolated events. It’s a coordinated, constantly evolving system that learns as it goes. What we’re seeing across the payments ecosystem is a shift from static, manual tactics to adaptive, AI-driven attack patterns that continuously refine themselves. Each failed attempt is not a dead end – it’s feedback. This ups the stakes of combating fraud entirely. Organizations can’t rely solely on point-in-time controls or reactive measures. The focus has to shift toward identifying patterns as they emerge, connecting signals across the full transaction lifecycle, and disrupting threats before they scale. In this world of agentic fraud, bots move fast – but Mastercard moves faster and smarter. Ranjita Iyer #FraudPreventionMonth #CyberSecurity #AgenticFraud 

Earlier this month in London, Mastercard was proud to be recognized at the Transport Ticketing Global (TTG) Awards gala, winning three awards alongside our partners for work that is helping modernize public transport systems around the world. 🏆 National Integrated Ticketing OVpay – Building a nationwide, integrated ticketing system across the Netherlands 🏆 Digital Innovation Mastercard & Ukrzaliznytsia – Digitizing a national rail lifeline at scale in Ukraine 🏆 Best Smart Ticketing Programme – Single Operator or Authority ASEAN’s first integrated rail MaaS ecosystem, delivered with KTMB, bringing open‑loop payments and a super‑app experience to riders in Malaysia. Together, these wins reflect what Mastercard’s role in the urban mobility ecosystem is all about: seamless use for everyday journeys, greater inclusion so systems work for everyone, and innovation that helps cities and operators meet riders needs with confidence. From London to cities around the world, we’re working alongside transit authorities, governments, and ecosystem partners to turn complexity into simplicity and vision into impact. We’re proud to see Mastercard recognized alongside so many industry leaders and deeply grateful to our partners and teams on the ground in the Netherlands, Ukraine, and Malaysia. #UrbanMobility #TransportTicketingGlobal #TTGAwards #SeamlessJourneys 

In the age of generative AI, “seeing is believing” is a dangerous rule to live by. What happens when we can no longer trust what we see or hear? AI impersonation attacks are becoming more prevalent. Scammers prey on victims using voice cloning, deepfakes, and other methods to bypass traditional security protocols and hack the one thing that matters most: our trust. At Mastercard, we are leveraging world-class technology to detect these abnormal patterns and stop fraudulent transfers at machine speed. But technology is only half the battle. To stay vigilant in these alarming times, we must each stay one step ahead by slowing down, implementing multi-channel verification, and educating ourselves on fraud risks and tactics. Stay tuned to this series for more on how AI impersonation works and how to protect yourselves. Laura Quevedo #FraudPreventionMonth #CyberSecurityAwareness #SocialEngineering

From closets to kitchen counters, trillions of dollars’ worth of items sit unused in our homes — largely invisible to today’s digital economy. But that’s starting to change. A new wave of AI-powered commerce is making it possible to identify, value and transact physical products in real time, turning everyday items into new opportunities for consumers and brands alike.   Which would you choose? 👇   Read more: https://lnkd.in/e-Jisyxa   #CircularFashion #CircularEconomy #AI