MasterCard (MA) is the second largest electronic payments processor by purchase volume behind Visa in the world. MasterCard does not issue credit cards directly, but licenses its brand to banks, who then issue co-branded cards (such as the Chase MasterCard). MasterCard makes money by charging merchant fees on individual transactions and by charging the credit card issuers licensing fees and a small percentage of the total dollar amount spent on each card.

In 2010, MasterCard reported an income of $1,847 million, a 26% increase over the previous year's $1,463 million.^[1]

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