Earnings Review: Cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset for growth

Growing up in a family business, I was inspired by the drive and creativity it took to build something from the ground up. It comes back to seeing the value and tangible impact to the customer, the end user.

That’s something I strive for – and appreciate – every day in my role at Mastercard. Especially as we report strong performance in our most recent quarter. A few headlines include:

• Net revenue and earnings per share both grew double digits on a non-GAAP, currency neutral basis
• Cross-border volume was up 17% year-over-year on a local currency basis
• Value-added services and solutions revenue grew 19% year-over-year on a currency neutral basis
• Switched transactions were up 11% globally, as compared to Q2 2023

On a call today, Michael and I shared how our team’s work is delivering for our customers, consumers and businesses, creating momentum that position us well for the future. One area I’ll focus on today is how we are embracing the spirit of entrepreneurship by enabling the secular shift to digital forms of payment through our innovation of technologies like contactless and tap on phone.

Many people look at their lives as very digital. You might start your day with a coffee run, paying by tapping your card or phone. You see how easy your commute can be on mass transit, ride share or electronic tolls. And that streaming service? Seamlessly paid for by a monthly subscription with a card on file.

I would argue that we’ve only scratched the surface. There continues to be a sizable opportunity in the secular shift. Yes, even in the U.S., Europe and other markets where consumer cards are established. We can shift more of everyday spend to digital and support new business models as they evolve. We are providing consumers with their preference of choice by expanding our tap on phone acceptance capabilities, scaling our contactless technology in areas like transit. The results are clear. In Q2 2023, contactless represented just over 60% of all in-person switched purchase transactions. Jump forward one year and contactless now represents approximately 69% of those transactions.

Now think more broadly to markets across Africa where they’re living a cash dominant, mobile-centric life. We are ramping up our investments and deepening partnerships with telcos and mobile network operators. Together, we are driving greater efficiency and greater value for the consumer and the merchant. And our technology is there, strengthening the backbone, allowing seamless integration of payments and value-added services to provide more options, accessibility, security and convenience to both consumers and businesses. That’s our job – to ensure there’s the choice of technology when and where people need it.

That’s real impact to our customer and the end user.

Just as an entrepreneur focuses on growth and creating impact, we’re focused on executing on our strategy – in the short and long term – that will continue to deliver value to our stakeholders. That is how we will deliver the best experience and the technologies supporting the shift to digital. And combined that brings us closer to delivering digital economies that works for all.