MasterCard reported it saw strong global online debit activity during the second quarter, as debit continues to take share from cash and check as a preferred means of payment.
The card association said its Maestro brand now appears on 578.1 million cards worldwide, including 34.5 million MasterCard debit cards, representing 5.9% growth versus the second quarter of 2004.
Merchant acceptance of MasterCard's online debit programs also grew.
As of June 30, consumers could make online debit point of sale purchases with their MasterCard debit or Maestro cards at over 9.2-million merchant locations globally.
MasterCard said that online debit purchase transactions in the U.S. grew 313% during the second quarter of 2005 over the same period one year earlier.
