MasterCard, Like Visa, Starts Building Huge Information

MasterCard International said it has begun development of a massive global information system for its members, using data base technology from Oracle Corp.

The first stage of the service, called MasterCard On-Line, is scheduled for a September debut. The initial offering, Market Advisor, is to provide data on cobranding programs, to help banks track performance and structure their marketing deals with nonbanks.

It is MasterCard's rejoinder to VisaVue, a data tracking system that Visa International introduced in 1992 and began putting on members' desktop computers in 1993.

Visa announced in May that it would institute on-line connections to its members, delivering VisaVue and a host of other information via the IBM Global Network starting in the fourth quarter.

Though they are playing catch-up, MasterCard officials said their system will surpass Visa's, in large part because of their alliance with the data base software leader Oracle Corp.

"We weren't trying to do a me-too product," said Rod Mack, senior vice president of systems development. "We were trying to come up with a system to add tremendous value for our membership" of 22,000 financial institutions worldwide.

"Because technology moves so quickly, of course, MasterCard had to meet and beat VisaVue," said James L. Accomando, a Fairfield, Conn.-based consultant who became familiar with Visa's data base while helping clients with cobranding programs.

He said the components of VisaVue geared to cobranding helped Visa close its gap in that part of the business with MasterCard, which had a head start in forging card-issuing alliances with the likes of General Motors and Shell Oil.

VisaVue "put enough sizzle in their presentation to get people interested," said Mr. Accomando. "It was tactile, in color, and fun - cobranders loved it."

He said MasterCard may now be offering something "new and improved" but it will succeed or fail based on whether it "really offers more useful information."

Visa's on-line information program, using a business communications network developed jointly by International Business Machines Corp. and Sears, Roebuck and Co., will only begin with access to VisaVue.

Visa also plans to deliver risk management programs, marketing and analytical tools, member bulletins, and other information that the association meant to cement the loyalty of its 20,000 banks around the world.

MasterCard is similarly emphasizing on-line, desktop access and future value-added services, but it claims several advantages over the competition, including data going back 13 months instead of two quarters and more extensive graphic capability.

Both systems allow users to benchmark their performance against the industry aggregate and peer groups. They can use the information for better insights into customer usage patterns and how to direct cardholder promotions.

"Our tool set is extremely robust, allowing flexibility in comparison and tracking that are way beyond what's in the industry today," said Mr. Mack of MasterCard.

A sophisticated system of triggers will alert users to fluctuations in cardholder activity, such as significant increases or decreases in usage, Mr. Mack said. "Rather than plowing through mountains of information, the important situations can be signaled."

MasterCard's system will be built on Oracle 7 data base technology and the Oracle Warehouse data warehousing architecture. Given MasterCard's 8.5 million cardholder transactions a day, the system will initially store one terabyte - a trillion characters - of information.

Cathy Basch, senior vice president for the VisaVue system, said VisaVue uses an IBM mainframe for its internal data base, rather than warehouse architecture. But, she said, "we are looking at that as a strong possibility for moving forward."

MasterCard banks will receive software that will give them access to MasterCard On-Line through AT&T's Virtual Private Network facility. Depending on their transaction volumes and existing connections with MasterCard, the banks might also call in through a dedicated line or by direct-dial into MasterCard.

Mr. Mack pointed out that MasterCard On-Line and Market Advisor are not specific to cobranders, but will be rolled out to them first. By next year, MasterCard On-Line is to be available outside the United States.

"MasterCard On-Line is a broad infrastructure," Mr. Mack said. "We plan to go way beyond cobranding to encompass all the information MasterCard has" including fraud, authorizations, and quarterly statistical reports.

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