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Australia, 6 December 2007 - This Christmas, Australians are choosing to spend more of their money on ensuring they have a memorable Christmas with family and friends, rather than exchanging luxury gifts. According to the MasterCard Worldwide Holiday Shopping Insights Report™, Aussies will be headed to the stores on Christmas Eve to create a lavish spread for family and friends the next day, compared with consumers in most of the other countries around the world who will be spending up on luxury gifts and gadgets the Saturday before Christmas.

The MasterCard Worldwide Holiday Shopping Insights Report found that when asked what Australians planned to spend most of their money on over the festive season, 22 per cent said that it would be food and drinks compared to just seven per cent of Americans, who opted for presents such as clothes, toys, books, CDs and DVDs.

According to Leigh Clapham, executive vice president, Australasia, MasterCard Worldwide, "The findings show that this Christmas it’s the priceless moments with friends and family that really matter to Australians. Instead of spending their money on expensive gifts it’s the simple things in life like enjoying good food and great wine with friends and family that will make Christmas special."

The Insights Report also found that although 67 per cent of Australian consumers intended to avoid the Christmas rush and finish their shopping by mid December, the reality is that most will leave their Christmas shopping this year until the last minute. While shoppers polled in all other countries said the Saturday before Christmas would be the busiest day at the shops, in Australia and New Zealand, shoppers were leaving their Christmas shopping right up until Christmas Eve. Of those polled, 36 per cent of Aussies and 33 per cent of Kiwis expected Christmas Eve to be the busiest shopping day of the season compared to just four per cent of Americans.

"And it looks like the great Aussie tradition of leaving Christmas shopping to the last minute will continue this year. It is expected that more than 11 million card purchases will be made on Christmas Eve, making it the busiest day of the shopping season this year," Clapham added.

The Insights Report also found that gift cards are fast becoming a favourite gift for Australians at Christmas, with more than half of Australian consumers likely to consider giving a MasterCard prepaid gift card as a present. Likewise among all the gift cards available, the most desirable type to receive (41 per cent) were MasterCard prepaid gift cards.

"Prepaid gift cards such as the Westpac MasterCard Gift Card are proving excellent presents because unlike traditional store gift cards, MasterCard gift cards do not limit shopping to one store, so the shopping opportunities are endless. They are the perfect present for those hard to buy for friends and family," Clapham said.

The Insights Report showed that while books, CDs and DVDs topped the list of presents that would be bought this Christmas (35 per cent), gift certificates and cards (21 per cent) were more popular than home appliances and furnishings (8 per cent) and as popular as traditional presents such as personal electronics (22 per cent) and health and beauty items such as make-up (19 per cent).

The MasterCard Worldwide Holiday Shopping Insights Report also revealed that Christmas 2007 will break all records for the amount spent online over the festive season. The research found that 7 out of 10 Aussies were expected to shop online this Christmas, using their credit cards to spend on average $287 each on gifts for their loved ones. Topping the list of online spending was books, CDs and DVDs (49 per cent) closely followed by tickets to an event (35 per cent) or a holiday (30 per cent).

To help consumers manage their spending online and in shops over the Christmas period, MasterCard is reminding consumers of the range of consumer education programmes that are specifically designed to help consumers develop sound money management skills. The Budget Basics programme by Mastercard offers free, easy-to-understand financial management tools and a variety of online resources designed to help Australians successfully manage and reduce debt. For additional information go to www.mastercard.com/au/budgetbasics.

• 67 per cent of Australian consumers intend to avoid the Christmas rush and finish their shopping by mid December
• Seven in ten plan on shopping online for holiday gifts this year
• Online consumers plan to spend 34 per cent of their total holiday spend online
• Three quarters of consumers plan to purchase food/liquor and clothing/accessories in-store and one third plan to purchase books/CDs/DVDs online
• 41 per cent would prefer to receive a MasterCard gift card over any other gift card
• On average, consumers plan to spend almost $800 on holiday gifts

• Draw up a budget for your Christmas expenditure so you can estimate how much you need to spend over the Christmas period. Visit the MasterCard Budget Basics website for budget advice and an online calculator, http://www.mastercard.com/au/budgetbasics/index.html.
• Keep track of your spending by regularly referring to your credit card transaction reports.
• Log on to your internet banking account to check you statements online in between monthly statements.

The MasterCard Worldwide Holiday Shopping Insights Report was commissioned by MasterCard Worldwide and was conducted online by Ipsos-Insight Corporation, an independent research company. Interviews were conducted in late September and early October 2007. Although the findings cited here are representative of the responses from U.S. consumers, more than 4,500 interviews were conducted in five countries, in addition to the United States: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Mexico. An online methodology was used in all countries except for Mexico, where a telephone methodology was used. Results from the 2007 survey were compared to 2006 results in the U.S. Data was weighted by age and gender to be nationally representative. Subgroups were stat-tested against each other at the 90 percent confidence interval. In addition, MasterCard based other findings cited in this release on information from billions of payment card transactions over the past several years.

MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes over 16 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard Worldwide serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to www.mastercard.com.

Statements in this press release which are not historical facts, including statements about MasterCard’s plans, strategies, beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking and subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Accordingly, except for the company’s ongoing obligations under the U.S. federal securities laws, the company does not intend to update or otherwise revise the forward-looking information to reflect actual results of operations, changes in financial condition, changes in estimates, expectations or assumptions, changes in general economic or industry conditions or other circumstances arising and/or existing since the preparation of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation:

• the company’s performance illustrating the strength of its diverse, global business;
• the company’s ability to benefit from positive secular trends and growth in international and emerging markets;
• the company’s ability to align with its customers;
• the company’s ability to deliver on its commitment of best-in-class dedicated customer account teams;
• the company’s ability to locate appropriate talent to help MasterCard and its customers;
• the company’s business results and cash position enabling it to fund an incremental repurchase program;
• the company’s ability to deliver on its commitment to enhance shareholder value.

Actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements for a number of reasons, including those set forth in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K that have been filed with the SEC during 2007, as well as reasons including difficulties, delays or the inability of the company to achieve its strategic initiatives set forth above. Factors other than those listed above could also cause the company’s results to differ materially from expected results.

Melissa Devine, 02 9818 0950, mdevine@ppr.com.au
Michael Pooley, 02 9818 9310, mpooley@ppr.com.au