Mastercard Inc 10-K10-K

Business

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Organization Mastercard Incorporated and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Mastercard International Incorporated (“Mastercard International” and together with Mastercard Incorporated, “Mastercard” or the “Company”), is a technology company in the global payments industry. Mastercard connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, digital partners, businesses and other organizations worldwide by enabling electronic payments and making those payment transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. The Company makes payments easier and more efficient by providing a wide range of payment solutions and services using its family of well-known and trusted brands, including its primary brand Mastercard®, as well as its Maestro® and Cirrus® brands. The Company operates a payments network that provides choice and flexibility for consumers, merchants and Mastercard customers. Through its unique and proprietary global payments network, the Company switches (authorizes, clears and settles) payment transactions. The Company has additional payments capabilities that include automated clearing house (“ACH”) transactions (both batch and real-time account-based payments). Using these capabilities, the Company offers consumer and commercial payment products, captures new payment flows and provides services and solutions. The Company’s services and solutions include, among others, security solutions, consumer acquisition and engagement services, business and market insights, digital and authentication, processing and gateway and other solutions, all of which draw on Mastercard’s principled and responsible use of secure data. The Company’s capabilities strengthen, reinforce and complement each other and are fundamentally interdependent. For the global payments network, Mastercard’s franchise model sets the standards and ground-rules that balance value and risk across (and allows for interoperability among) all stakeholders. The Company employs a multi-layered approach to help protect the global payments ecosystem in which it operates. Mastercard is not a financial institution. The Company does not issue cards, extend credit, determine or receive revenue from interest rates or other fees charged to account holders by issuers, nor does the Company establish the rates charged by acquirers in connection with mer