Frugality isn’t always about getting the cheapest thing.

I really like this MasterCard commercial. It’s a good one: Short, simple, memorable. Oh, and adorable. And it’s on a timely topic — back to school.
It occurs to me that advertising ought to be targeted. You want to approach people from a place they can recognize. And right now, that place is back to school. Especially for the women that make up a large portion of the consumer public. So it’s smart to emphasize the back to school theme, without pushing it too much. A nice balance between reminding you, and hitting you over the head with it. MasterCard’s “priceless” …read more

Credit cards don’t just strong-arm people; they strong-arm businesses, too. Or at least try to. Back in the day, MasterCard tried to force businesses to accept debit cards branded with MasterCard at businesses where those credit cards were accepted. Many businesses (including Wal-Mart) took umbrage, claiming that the move created, in effect, a trust situation and tied the acceptance of debit to the acceptance of credit cards. Businesses claimed MasterCard was threatening them with revocation of the ability to accept its credit cards if they did not also accept branded debit cards.
In 1996, an antitrust suit was filed. In 2003, …read more

Citigroup Inc. lost its most senior executive in Asia to MasterCard Inc. when Ajay Banga, 49, left his executive role at Citigroup to become next in line for the title of CEO of MasterCard. On August 31, MasterCard president and CEO Robert Selander will cede his president title to Banga, who will also serve as the chief operating officer.
 
MasterCard Worldwide debuted in 2006 and has done very well since its launch, with its stock more than quadrupling in value throughout the last three years. Banga leaves behind a troubled Citigroup, which recently took $45 billion from the U.S. government as …read more

Friday was a good day and a bad day for MasterCard. The bad news is that profit in the first quarter of 2009 was down almost 20% when compared to profit in 2008. More bad news is that MasterCard’s stock dropped $10.55, which was almost 6% of its value.
The good news is that the drop in profit wasn’t as drastic as many industry experts feared. Profit in the first quarter of 2008 was $447 million. This year, that number fell to $367 million. While that is a big drop, it beat most predictions.
Like many companies, MasterCard is looking for ways …read more

One of the more interesting things that people are finding out as credit card issuers start closing accounts of those who are responsible with their credit is that issuers don’t actually want you to pay off your balance every month and use your card only occasionally. I was asked about this recently:
“I don’t understand why credit card companies care,” a friend said. “Don’t they get money on each transaction? Even if I pay off my credit card every month, or use it only occasionally, aren’t they making money even if I don’t pay interest?”
My friend has been caught in the …read more

Those of you who travel or purchase products abroad using a credit card may find things a little cheaper if the EU gets its way. According to this report at CNNMoney.com, the EU is pressuring Mastercard to drop fees on international transactions. While Mastercard appears to be the immediate target, the EU is also looking at Visa as well.
image from mastercard.com