Card Briefs: MasterCard Promotion Has World Cup Tie-In

MasterCard International has begun an international promotion of its Maestro debit card tied to the World Cup soccer tournament.

Customers of participating institutions who use their Maestro cards in April will be eligible to win trips to the events in France. Ninety-five winners will get round-trip transportation, hotel rooms for four days and three nights, tickets to a match, and $1,000 in spending money.

MasterCard, a corporate sponsor of the World Cup, called the contest its "first-ever global promotion" and said 31 Maestro issuers in 20 countries are participating.

The Maestro mark appears on more than 140 million ATM cards, which are accepted at more than two million merchant terminals in 60 countries, the company said. "Because of the power of this promotion, we expect Maestro activation and usage rates among participating members to increase significantly," said Daniel T. Ciporin, MasterCard senior vice president of global deposit access.

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