Small Business

When balloons mean business

How the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta turns nine days of spectacle into a major boost for businesses across New Mexico.

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PERSPECTIVES

Latest stories

Features, Q&As, videos and thought leadership about people and tech from around the world

Holiday shopping

Holiday confessions: Shoppers admit to last-minute gift cards, secret self-gifting and a few white lies

Holiday shopping

Gen Z and millennials will let AI pick the gifts, but they still want the final say

Holiday shopping

Shopping without borders shouldn’t mean buying blind

Holiday shopping

Why holiday stress is a cybersecurity issue

Trust

Earnings Review: Trust at work, powering our next chapter of growth

Small business

How small businesses are adapting to a marketplace changing in real time

Cybersecurity

AI is a scammer’s superpower. This startup uses AI to outsmart them.

A woman looks at a computer with code overlaid on the photo.

Passions

From followers to founders: Beast Industries and Mastercard help the next generation own their path to prosperity

The biggest name at Money 20/20 this year wasn’t even human

Ahead of the curve

Go inside Mastercard's latest Threatcasting exercise, where cybersecurity leaders from across the ecosystem imagine futuristic threats and explore how to mitigate them, transforming the abstract into concrete scenarios that can inform long-term planning and strengthen digital trust.

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PRESS

Company announcements

View all

Mastercard Max makes benefits easy to discover, understand and use

October 21, 2026

What happens when AI agents start paying each other? Watch Mastercard Agent Pay for Machines in action

October 20, 2026

Mastercard introduces risk intelligence to enable more secure stablecoin payments

October 19, 2026

Mastercard and BVNK launch Global Money Platform

October 15, 2026

Mastercard at Money 20/20: Fueling momentum. Unlocking potential.

October 6, 2026

Mastercard advances agentic commerce with new trust and intelligence services

September 30, 2026

Mastercard launches AI-powered B2B analytics for supplier payments

September 28, 2026

Changing lanes: Cross-border payment providers in new race to win small business loyalty

September 23, 2026

Mastercard’s Dreamonomics Report finds small business owners are redefining growth for a more demanding economy

September 15, 2026

Mastercard Dreamonomics research finds U.S. small businesses are prioritizing predictable growth, with the TCS New York City Marathon showing the opportunity major moments can create

September 15, 2026

Mastercard launches Wallet Pay to scale digital wallets worldwide

September 10, 2026

Mastercard gives merchants a simpler way to build, connect and scale AI-powered shopping experiences

September 9, 2026

Mastercard and World Bank Group launch $500 million global risk facility to expand financial access

September 9, 2026

Mastercard announces new lead for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region

August 10, 2026

Mastercard elevates premium travel with Asia Pacific’s first Taste by Priceless dining club at Hong Kong International Airport

August 5, 2026

Mastercard completes acquisition of BVNK to advance global stablecoin capabilities

August 3, 2026

Mastercard expands virtual card platform with new security controls, embedded payments network and single API access

July 23, 2026

Intuit launches business credit card that brings spend management, rewards, and insights together in QuickBooks

July 22, 2026

Beyond one billion: Inside the journey to a more inclusive and sustainable economy

July 15, 2026

The next era of conscious consumption

June 23, 2026

Mastercard launches Agent Pay for Machines to unlock super-fast, always-on payments

June 10, 2026

Mastercard expands settlement capabilities to include stablecoin, intraday, holiday and weekend options

June 3, 2026

Mastercard announces leadership updates to advance strategy and support continued growth

June 2, 2026

Mastercard advances instant cross-border payments with TIPS cross-currency pilot

June 1, 2026

EXPLAINERS

A deeper dive into today's big ideas

Card benefits

Demystifying card benefits, rewards and protections

Open finance

Your essential guide to open finance

TOKENIZATION

A primer on card tokenization

A man on a hotel room bed looks at his laptop

How foreign exchange impacts travel decisions and spending

Regional newsrooms

Access the latest news from around the globe

Asia Pacific newsroom

Learn more

Europe newsroom

Learn more

Aerial view of London and the River Thames

Eastern Europe Middle East Africa newsroom

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DOHA, QATAR - 31 January 2016: Skyscrapers in the Dafna district of Doha t sunset, with the Sheraton hotel on the right,

Latin America newsroom

Learn more

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MONTHLY SPOTLIGHT

Cybersecurity

How to outsmart the scammers using AI, with AI

Cybera uses AI to identify money mule accounts before victims send money, helping banks detect scams and prevent fraudulent payments in real time.

On stablecoins, agentic payments and trust issues

Ann Johnson explains how Mastercard uses fraud intelligence and security to build trust in stablecoins and agentic payments as they scale.

Burden of woof

Mastercard cyber investigators traced a falsely-advertised AI-powered robot puppy to 250 online stores linked to a global scam merchant network.

Insights

Digital assets

Waiting is no longer a strategy

Learn more

Small business, rewritten

Learn more

Moving agentic AI from promise to performance

Learn more

Trust for agentic commerce

Learn more

A woman sits on a bench and smiles at her phone.

Commercial payments

Money in motion

Learn more

A woman in a store holds a laptop and smiles.

Scaling digital wallets

Learn more

Encoding trust: Intent, consent and control in an agentic world

Learn more

A woman in running gear leads others behind her.

Sustainability

The next era of conscious consumption

Learn more

A man in a beard, glasses and ear piercings packs a vintage radio in a box in the store room of a vintage goods shop.

Economic Insights

Emerging tech: 7 signals shaping the future

Learn more

A silhouette of a man running over boxes with red and green light trails coming off him.

Economic Insights

The new travel equation: Macro, machines, motivation

Learn more

A woman a phone and her passport and a cup of coffee with her suitcase next to her in a transit area.

Data insights

The state of open finance 2026

Learn more

Commerce

New business formation: The rise of online commerce

Learn more

A woman holds a phone and looks over a laptop in a garden shop.

Commerce

The next growth generation: Winning with Gen Z and Gen Alpha

Learn more

Young woman holding phones stand in front of a stage.

Consumer payments

Unlocking the value of debit loyalty

Learn more

A store worker takes a customer's credit card.

Commerce

The age of authentic intentionality

Learn more

People sit on orange chairs on a large patio overlooking a lake.

Commercial payments

Fueling big ambitions in small towns

Learn more

A woman stands inside a business looking out at the street in a small town.

Commercial payments

Unlocking procurement value through embedded finance

Learn more

Several people sit at a table around a laptop talking in an office setting.

Small business

Securing small businesses

Learn more

A woman in a heavy work coat looks at her phone in a workshop.

Cybersecurity

Migration to post-quantum cryptography

Learn more

Preparing for an AI-powered cybersecurity future

Learn more

The Securing Tomorrow white paper cover and inside page.

Harnessing the transformative power of AI in Africa

Learn more

A man in a straw fedora and overalls holds seeds and a tablet in a forest.

Sustainability

How loyalty can incentivize more sustainable consumption

Learn more

A placard reading Eat Well Do Good Win Big next to a point of sale device.

Trust

Mastercard 2024 Impact Report

Learn more

A woman and her son look out a train window.

Sustainability

Cashing in on circularity

Learn more

Waiting is no longer a strategy
Small business, rewritten
Scaling digital wallets
Scaling digital wallets
Scaling digital wallets
Scaling digital wallets
Encoding trust: Intent, consent and control in an agentic world
Emerging tech: 7 signals shaping the future
Emerging tech: 7 signals shaping the future
The new travel equation: Macro, machines, motivation
The state of open finance 2026
New business formation: The rise of online commerce
The next growth generation: Winning with Gen Z and Gen Alpha
Fueling big ambitions in small towns
Fueling big ambitions in small towns
Fueling big ambitions in small towns
Securing small businesses
Securing small businesses
Preparing for an AI-powered cybersecurity future
Preparing for an AI-powered cybersecurity future
How loyalty can incentivize more sustainable consumption
How loyalty can incentivize more sustainable consumption
Mastercard 2024 Impact Report
Using AI and collaboration to prevent consumer payment scams

Small Business

When balloons mean business

Latest stories

Holiday confessions: Shoppers admit to last-minute gift cards, secret self-gifting and a few white lies

Gen Z and millennials will let AI pick the gifts, but they still want the final say

Shopping without borders shouldn’t mean buying blind

Why holiday stress is a cybersecurity issue

Earnings Review: Trust at work, powering our next chapter of growth

How small businesses are adapting to a marketplace changing in real time

AI is a scammer’s superpower. This startup uses AI to outsmart them.

From followers to founders: Beast Industries and Mastercard help the next generation own their path to prosperity

The biggest name at Money 20/20 this year wasn’t even human

Ahead of the curve

Company announcements

October 2026

Mastercard Max makes benefits easy to discover, understand and use

What happens when AI agents start paying each other? Watch Mastercard Agent Pay for Machines in action

Mastercard introduces risk intelligence to enable more secure stablecoin payments

Mastercard and BVNK launch Global Money Platform

Mastercard at Money 20/20: Fueling momentum. Unlocking potential.

September 2026

Mastercard advances agentic commerce with new trust and intelligence services

Mastercard launches AI-powered B2B analytics for supplier payments

Changing lanes: Cross-border payment providers in new race to win small business loyalty

Mastercard’s Dreamonomics Report finds small business owners are redefining growth for a more demanding economy

Mastercard Dreamonomics research finds U.S. small businesses are prioritizing predictable growth, with the TCS New York City Marathon showing the opportunity major moments can create

Mastercard launches Wallet Pay to scale digital wallets worldwide

Mastercard gives merchants a simpler way to build, connect and scale AI-powered shopping experiences

Mastercard and World Bank Group launch $500 million global risk facility to expand financial access

August 2026

Mastercard announces new lead for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region

Mastercard elevates premium travel with Asia Pacific’s first Taste by Priceless dining club at Hong Kong International Airport

Mastercard completes acquisition of BVNK to advance global stablecoin capabilities

July 2026

Mastercard expands virtual card platform with new security controls, embedded payments network and single API access

Intuit launches business credit card that brings spend management, rewards, and insights together in QuickBooks

Beyond one billion: Inside the journey to a more inclusive and sustainable economy

June 2026

The next era of conscious consumption

Mastercard launches Agent Pay for Machines to unlock super-fast, always-on payments

Mastercard expands settlement capabilities to include stablecoin, intraday, holiday and weekend options

Mastercard announces leadership updates to advance strategy and support continued growth

Mastercard advances instant cross-border payments with TIPS cross-currency pilot

A deeper dive into today's big ideas

Demystifying card benefits, rewards and protections

Your essential guide to open finance

A primer on card tokenization

How foreign exchange impacts travel decisions and spending

Access the latest news from around the globe

Asia Pacific newsroom

Europe newsroom

Eastern Europe Middle East Africa newsroom

Latin America newsroom

Cybersecurity

How to outsmart the scammers using AI, with AI

On stablecoins, agentic payments and trust issues

Burden of woof

Insights

Waiting is no longer a strategy

Small business, rewritten

Moving agentic AI from promise to performance

Trust for agentic commerce

Money in motion

Scaling digital wallets

Encoding trust: Intent, consent and control in an agentic world

The next era of conscious consumption

Emerging tech: 7 signals shaping the future

The new travel equation: Macro, machines, motivation

The state of open finance 2026

New business formation: The rise of online commerce

The next growth generation: Winning with Gen Z and Gen Alpha

Unlocking the value of debit loyalty

The age of authentic intentionality

Fueling big ambitions in small towns

Unlocking procurement value through embedded finance

Securing small businesses

Migration to post-quantum cryptography

Preparing for an AI-powered cybersecurity future

Harnessing the transformative power of AI in Africa

How loyalty can incentivize more sustainable consumption