PURCHASE, N.Y. First-half global purchase activity and cash transaction volume on MasterCard-branded cards rose 23% from the same period last year, to $406 billion, MasterCard International reported Wednesday.
Excluding cash transactions, purchase volume on MasterCard cards increased 19.3%, to $300.4 billion. The number of purchases made with the card climbed 17.7%, to more than 4.1 billion.
MasterCard president and chief executive officer Robert W. Selander linked the results to the companys successful advertising campaign. With our Priceless advertising now seen around the world in 53 countries and 24 languages, the reach and scope of the MasterCard brand is unrivaled, he said.
The U.S. market accounted for $199 billion of the gross volume, up 23.6% from the first half last year.
The number of MasterCard-branded cards issued by the companys 20,000 bank members increased 12.8%, to more than 403 million.
Debit card volume grew 34.5%, and credit card volume increased 21.9%. The number of merchant locations accepting MasterCard increased 11.5%, to 18.1 million.
