Press Office

Singapore, 1 November 2007 - MasterCard Worldwide today announced its third quarter 2007 operating results for the Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA) region. For the quarter, the region reported growth in gross dollar volume (19.2%), purchase volume¹ (22.8%), purchase transactions (20.2%), cash transactions (23.3%) and cards issued (11.9%) versus the same period in 2006.

As of 30 September 2007, over 198 million MasterCard cards (excluding Maestro® and Cirrus) had been issued by MasterCard customer financial institutions across APMEA. Cardholders in the region made 745 million purchase transactions in the third quarter of 2007 and could use their MasterCard cards at over 25 million acceptance locations worldwide.

“APMEA continues to be a solid source of growth for MasterCard, and the positive quarterly performance in this region demonstrates our ability to understand and meet the needs of our financial institution customers, consumers, businesses and merchants. This region is experiencing remarkable economic growth in areas such as real national income and gross domestic product. As the number of affluent and wealthy consumers here continues to grow, so will their demand for unique luxury goods and services. MasterCard is engaging with the powerful new consumer group through events such a The MasterCard Luxury Week Hong Kong. We also offer unique insights into this demographic through our research, which we will continue to offer to our customers,” said Andre Sekulic, president, Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa, MasterCard Worldwide.

In addition, the Maestro® brand mark appeared on over 226 million cards, up 11.5 percent compared to the third quarter of 2006 in APMEA. Consumers can now make online debit point of sale purchases with their Maestro cards at more than 981,000 merchant locations throughout the APMEA region.

MasterCard in the APMEA region also reported a number of significant business achievements for the quarter:

• MasterCard’s leadership in the fashion and luxury space took center stage with the launch of MasterCard Luxury Week Hong Kong, a showcase of the world’s leading luxury brands to consumers and industry audiences. Top international fashion designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang and Calvin Klein brought their latest collections to the well-heeled and fashion forward from Hong Kong and the region over 10 days of runway shows. A highlight of Luxury Week was the MasterCard Worldwide Asia/Pacific Luxury Conference 2007, at which a new MasterCard Insights report – The Demand for Luxuries in Asia/Pacific – was introduced, offering perspectives into the rapidly growing luxury market.
  
  Further expansion into the luxury space included the awarding of fifteen MasterCard-ESSEC Luxury Brand Management Executive Program Scholarships. Senior executives from the luxury goods and services industry in Asia/Pacific were offered full scholarships to a four-day intensive course run by the prestigious ESSEC Business School, one of the world’s top business schools in international management education. Recipients included executives from premier luxury houses such as Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Alfred Dunhill, Valentino and Swarovski.
• MasterCard’s leadership in the premium space continues to be recognized by its customer financial institutions as they continue to choose MasterCard to launch the World MasterCard® premium card programs. In Taiwan, MasterCard launched the Fubon World Card, aimed at meeting the travel and entertainment needs of the affluent and business travelers. In Australia, MasterCard launched the HSBC Premier World MasterCard card. MasterCard, in association with HDFC Bank, introduced India’s first World MasterCard Card, the HDFC Bank World MasterCard Credit Card.
• In the knowledge leadership space, a new MasterCard Worldwide Index of China’s Affluent, offering insights to the well-heeled in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, was introduced. Structured as a twice-yearly index, it surveys and analyzes key features of the spending patterns, lifestyle features and attitudes of China’s affluent as well as their preferences for top brands across 10 product and service sectors.
  
  The MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce report brought industry and government together in India. MasterCard along with the Indian Finance Ministry and the National Council of Applied Economic Research co-hosted a forum on the building of Mumbai into an International Financial Center where the Centers of Commerce results were presented. Close to 50 senior representatives from development agencies, financial institutions, government departments as well as media participated in the forum.
  
  MasterCard also released an Insights report entitled Asia/Pacific 10 Years After the ‘97 Crisis, an analysis of the lessons learnt in the region, a decade after the financial crisis.
• MasterCard continues to further its leadership in the women’s space with the MasterCard-U21Global scholarship program for women in travel and tourism. Twenty women from Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa were offered full scholarships to pursue the Executive Diploma of Business Administration from U21Global, the world’s premier online Graduate School. This is the second consecutive year that MasterCard and U21Global are collaborating to offer this scholarship program. It aims to empower working women professionals in the travel and tourism industry to stay ahead of industry trends and realize their full potential.
• On the EMV front, MasterCard is supporting New Zealand’s retail and service industries as they move toward becoming fully equipped to accept chip-enabled payment cards. MasterCard has designed and implemented a framework for New Zealand financial institutions, who have in turn been working with merchants throughout the country, as part of the country’s migration to EMV payments.
  
  In Vietnam, the VP Bank Platinum MasterCard debit and credit cards marked the first EMV-compliant cards for the country. In another milestone, South Africa’s Nedbank became the first of South Africa’s four major banks to issue Chip & PIN MasterCard credit cards to its customers, initiating a nationwide roll-out of the new EMV chip card technology.
• The strength of the MasterCard® PayPass™ contactless payment solution, which is now in 11 APMEA markets, was further solidified with the launch of the EON Bank Combi Debit MasterCard card in Malaysia. This is the world’s first EMV-compliant multi-application Debit® card program equipped with the MasterCard® PayPass™. It encompasses debit, contactless, EMV and ATM functionalities.
  
  MasterCard and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) launched the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) first credit card with PayPass contactless technology – the ADCB Flash MasterCard Credit Card. In addition, Emirates Bank, Dubai Internet City (DIC) and MasterCard launched the Emirates Bank DIC MasterCard® PayPass™ credit card, bringing the latest technology in contactless payments to retail outlets in Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Village.
  
  In September, MasterCard's TaiwanMoney Card was recognized as one of the “Top 50 Star Products of the M-shape² Society” in Taiwan. The award was conferred by Business Next magazine, a bi-weekly publication covering the latest trends and successful paradigms in the field of computer, network and communications. TaiwanMoney Card was selected by Business Next as one of the star products in the “Convergence” category. This award recognizes the achievements of the TaiwanMoney Card in leveraging a combination of technologies, applications and tailor-made features to successfully meet the ever-changing needs of consumers.
• MasterCard continued to gain momentum in the debit space, announcing a debit agreement with petroleum giant BP. In a first for the South African market, Maestro Debit Cards will be accepted for fuel payments at BP Petrol Stations in South Africa, offering increased convenience and security to South African consumers and businesses. Until now, motorists have had to pay for fuel by cash, garage or fleet cards.
  
  MasterCard also delivered the first MasterCard unembossed debit card with PIN functionality to the South African market place to be issued by FNB Core Banking Solutions to customers in its young adult customer base.
  
  In Korea, MasterCard launched the Maestro Global Pass Card with Shinhan Card and the Maestro SK TDream Card with Hana Bank.
• MasterCard’s innovative co-brand cards made significant inroads in APMEA. MasterCard scored yet another first in the Philippines with the launch of the SMART Infinity BDO Platinum MasterCard. This is the first telecommunications co-brand platinum card in the Philippines by leading wireless service provider SMART Communications, Inc., and Banco de Oro, one of the country’s leading full-service banks.
• In Indonesia, MasterCard strengthened its footprint in Islamic finance by launching the country’s first Syariah compliant financial card, with credit card functionalities, in cooperation with PT Bank Danamon.
• To encourage cross-border usage, MasterCard in association with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, launched the “72 Hours Amazing Thailand” campaign which targets visitors from around the Asia/Pacific region.
  
  In the Middle East, the 2007 MasterCard Travel Season Campaign was launched by MasterCard, in association with travel industry in Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, offering cardholders a host of travel benefits.
• Bank of China International, Karsikorn Bank (Thailand) and HSBC Taiwan started acquiring MasterCard Gateway Service (MiGS) in the third quarter.
• MasterCard’s sponsorship of the Great Singapore Sale, Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival, and Dubai Summer Surprises continues to strengthen its retail and card usage promotion platform across APMEA. In Singapore, the Great Singapore Sale has seen total spend increase by 49% and transactions increase 42%, when compared with the same period last year. In Malaysia, total spend by MasterCard cardholders during the Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival 2007 was recorded at US$1.3 billion, as both locals and tourists sought to make full use of the Sale offerings. For the period of the Sale, 20.7 million transactions were made with MasterCard cards.
• MasterCard continues to expand its ATM network across APMEA. Its cardholders can now access Seven Bank’s ATM network across Japan and use their MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus® cards to make cash withdrawals in Japanese yen at any one of Seven Bank’s 12,000 ATMs. These are located mainly at 7-Eleven convenience stores, tourist destinations or near well-known hotels within Japan.

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 serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to http://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:

• APMEA continuing to be a source of growth for MasterCard via the ability to understand and meet the needs of customers, consumers, merchants and businesses;
• the region experiencing economic growth, and the number of affluent and wealthy consumers continuing to grow;
• the company’s ability to offer unique insights and research into the affluent demographic to customers

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

Georgette Tan, georgette_tan@mastercard.com, (+ 65) 6390 5971
Priyia Paramajothi, pparamajothi@webershandwick.com, (+ 65) 6825 8064