MasterCard 2007 Annual Report Download - page 17

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rewards that entrepreneurs and executives seek. In the
United States, we also launched the MasterCard Easy
Savings™ program for small business, delivering automatic
savings at car rental agencies, restaurants, airlines and hotels,
as well as on printing, shipping and business services. Our
research shows that MasterCard Easy Savings is exactly what
small business owners want — a simple way to save on their
business expenditures. For customers, it’s another way to
build activation, loyalty and usage, which is why more than
30 major fi nancial institutions have signed on. At the same
time, the program offers valuable benefi ts for merchants by
attracting new and sought-after small business customers.
Increasingly, companies conduct business globally and
need solutions that provide a comprehensive view of their
business expenses. The MasterCard Multinational Corporate
Program leverages our industry-leading, global data network
for this purpose, allowing companies to manage and
optimize expenses while increasing control and compliance.
With MasterCard smartdata.gen2 ,
™ we are also helping
businesses of all sizes control costs, drive profi ts and
improve compliance. This proprietary, Web-based expense
and information management solution provides businesses
with integrated, global expense spending analysis,
unmatched fl exibility and multiple robust reporting
options so they can better manage their expenditures.
Another important development was the introduction of
MasterCard inControl™
. This platform empowers issuers to
offer a wider set of customized products — emphasizing
advanced transaction controls — for consumers, businesses,
corporations and government agencies. In this way,
MasterCard inControl expands the value proposition that
MasterCard provides to issuers.
Throughout 2007, we moved forward with many other
initiatives, including programs to address signifi cant
opportunities in healthcare, consumer bill payment and
expanded use of prepaid cards by governments, businesses
and consumers. By replacing paper-based forms of payment
with more effi cient and secure solutions, our innovations
continue to revolutionize the way commerce is conducted
around the world.
Our Knowledge and Insights
Spotlight Trends and Opportunities
We believe that in the last decade we have worked
harder — and smarter — than any competitor to leverage
a wealth of intellectual capital gained through the billions
of transactions processed. Our ability to apply market
intelligence on a customer’s behalf — or deliver insights
through widely followed studies, publications and reports —
is a clear differentiator for our organization.
Maurice D. Levi
Bank of Montreal Professor of International
Finance, University of British Columbia, Canada
Peter J. Taylor
Codirector, Globalization and World
Cities Research Group and Network,
Loughborough University, U.K.
William Lever
Emeritus Professor of Urban Studies,
University of Glasgow, Scotland
Michael Goldberg
Professor Emeritus, Sauder School of Business,
University of British Columbia, Canada
Global Insights
The MasterCard Worldwide
Centers of Commerce program —
a groundbreaking global initiative —
ranks the world’s top 50 cities that
drive the global economy. The
research effort was undertaken by
a panel of economists and experts
in urban development and social
science, including (pictured below,
left to right):
Anthony Pellegrini
Partner/Director of the Urban and
Infrastructure Policy and Finance Practice,
Centennial Group, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Yuwa Hedrick-Wong
Economic Advisor, Asia/Pacifi c,
MasterCard Worldwide, Singapore
Manu Bhaskaran
Partner/Head, Economic Research,
Centennial Group, Singapore
Saskia Sassen
Helen and Robert Lynd Professor of
Sociology, Committee on Global Thought
and Department of Sociology,
Columbia University, New York, U.S.A.
Centennial Visiting Professor,
London School of Economics, U.K.
Fan Gang
Director, National Economic Research Institute,
Beijing, China