Mastercard is a global payments technology company operating a card network that authorises, clears and settles transactions between issuing and acquiring banks.
Semantic Classification
Content
- Mastercard runs a four-party scheme connecting cardholders, merchants, acquiring banks and issuing banks, routing authorisation and settlement messages across the network. It defines technical and operational rules that participants follow.
- The company has piloted work around tokenisation, central bank digital currency interoperability and stablecoin settlement, positioning its rails alongside emerging digital money. This connects it to cross-border payment modernisation.