With markets across the globe moving from traditional to electronic forms of payment, this is a very exciting time for MasterCard. We are in an extraordinary position to deliver value to stakeholders around the world: to the financial institutions that offer our products and services, consumers and businesses who use them, merchants who accept them and regional economies that enjoy the rise in economic activity. Importantly, I believe our success in 2006 demonstrated our commitment to deliver value to you, our shareholders.

As a new publicly traded company, one of our highest priorities was to build a strong, independent board of directors. As a member of the selection committee, I know, firsthand, the high level of rigour and consideration that went into the search process, which we completed in early 2007. I believe we've assembled a team with admirable depth and breadth of experience, as well as valuable geographical diversity that extends from the Americas to Asia and Europe. As a board, we're firmly committed to working with management to drive shareholder value through sound, transparent corporate governance practices and solid counsel as the company pursues its vision of advancing commerce globally.

It is clear to me that MasterCard is well positioned to capitalise on the many emerging opportunities in the world of payments. No competitor has the combination of a corporate strategy focused on the needs of customers, a unified global structure, world-renowned brands, innovative payment solutions, an advanced processing platform and MasterCard Advisors, a professional services organisation solely dedicated to the payments industry. I believe we are effectively leveraging all of these assets for our constituents — and that shows in our impressive results.

Richard Haythornthwaite
Chairman of the Board of Directors
April 2007