MasterCard Highlights Digital Wallet Expansion in Strong Quarter

MasterCard's digital wallet is currently live in 10 markets and the company has plans to add four more countries this year in a push to strengthen the card network's capabilities in an increasingly digital world.

MasterPass demonstrates the Purchase, N.Y.-based company's commitment to technology and innovation, said Ajay Banga, president and CEO of MasterCard, during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call.

"It is more than a wallet," Banga said during the July 31 call. "It is a platform for payments, it is live in more countries than other wallets and we have tens of thousands of merchants signed up for accepting it."

The company is about to deploy in-application payment capabilities for MasterPass, which allows companies like Starbucks to include a MasterCard prepaid card in its mobile payment and loyalty application in the Australian market, Banga added. Shaw Theatres in Singapore also supports the MasterPass in-app purchasing feature.

The updates to MasterPass come as the rival card network Visa is revamping its own digital payment strategy under the new Visa Checkout brand.

MasterCard's net income rose 10%, to $931 million, from the same period a year earlier. Its net revenue rose 13%, to $2.4 billion.

MasterCard reported an increase in processed transactions of 12%, to 10.6 billion, and an increase in cross-border volumes of 16%.

MasterCard is showing strength in many sectors of its business, but it may be too early to declare MasterPass as the gold standard of digital wallets, said Gil Luria, analyst with Los Angeles-based Wedbush Securities.

"MasterCard has an entry with MasterPass but the company focuses on supporting their bank members more so than having their own proprietary brand," Luria said. "The real test is how many banks deploy a MasterPass and how many have success gaining merchant acceptance and consumer adoption."

In another positive development, Banga touted the announcement this week that MasterCard will provide BJ's Wholesale Club, a retail warehouse chain on the east coast in the U.S., with EMV chip-based cards in 2015. BJ's currently offers Visa cards issued by Barclaycard.

Banga also discussed the situation in Russia, where the card networks had to stop processing payments for some entities targeted by U.S. sanctions. Russia is also setting new rules that the card networks would have to obey to continue operating in the country.

Future business in Russia is hard to forecast, Banga said.

While fulfilling its obligations to the U.S., Banga said MasterCard continues to comply with Russia's rules as well by establishing partners to operate payment processing technology in the nation.

"The processing center we currently have in Russia, we believe, gives us the basis to build our own on-site switching capabilities and we are exploring options to leverage that as well," Banga said

While difficult to measure, Banga said MasterCard estimates its revenue in Russia is likely to fall off by "something less $50 million" in the calendar year.

"Despite the challenges, our business continues to move forward in Russia," Banga said, citing a business renewal with Alfa Bank to expand merchant relationships and introduce more contactless technology in the region.

Ultimately, MasterCard showed that its diversity across the globe is helping it overcome any problems presented in single markets, Luria said.

"Even though Russia may be a bit of an issue, it is more than offset by MasterCard's growth in the other regions," Luria said. "This quarter was particularly strong."

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