MasterCard 2007 Annual Report Download - page 18

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Last year, for instance, we proudly launched a groundbreaking
research project, the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of
Commerce™ program. This unique initiative brought
together an international panel of experts who delivered
insights into the growing importance of urban centers and
their infl uence on the global economy. An important
component of the program is the Worldwide Centers of
Commerce Index, which ranks and tracks the top 50 cities
driving global commerce. This was accompanied by the
Dynamics of Global Cities and Global Commerce report,
which provides in-depth commentary on the forces that link
and shape commerce around the world. Our research and
insights are available to all of our customers and are helping
many of them shape their growing businesses.
Beyond our reports and research initiatives, our wealth
of knowledge and expertise is also delivered through
MasterCard Advisors®
, the only global professional services
organization in the payments industry. For MasterCard,
this group has become a strong and growing differentiator,
helping customers worldwide build increasingly profi table
payment programs. Clients include some of the most
important fi nancial institutions in the world, from Citi
and JPMorgan Chase to The Royal Bank of Scotland and
the Bank of China. This market acceptance validates our
strategy of building deeper relationships with customers by
combining knowledge and insights with our most
innovative, profi table payments solutions.
In addition to offering consulting and information services,
MasterCard Advisors provides industry-leading rewards
services and card benefi ts and handles more than 3.5 million
service calls annually on behalf of customers.
MasterCard Advisors also continued to publish
SpendingPulse®
, 1 a subscription-based U.S. consumer
spending report that refl ects aggregate sales activity in
the MasterCard payments network coupled with estimates
for all other payment forms such as cash and checks. In
2007, SpendingPulse was expanded to include reporting
of U.S. gasoline demand and U.K. retail spending. This data
provides key intelligence on consumer spending — ahead of
the release of government fi gures — and is closely followed
by issuers, merchants, analysts, the media and others.
Finally, in a major effort to provide our customers with
direct actionable insights, MasterCard Advisors rolled out
Comparative Cardholder Dynamics. Drawing on opinions
from more than 50,000 U.S. consumers, this study provides
our customers with unique perspectives on consumer
attitudes to better understand payment trends and areas
of opportunity. These insights enable our customers to
benchmark against competitors and develop successful
marketplace strategies.
Our Dynamic People Lead at All Levels
Underlying our accomplishments is the talent and drive of
our people, all of whom contributed to our success in 2007.
In an age of global commerce, having a diverse and inclusive
workforce is a key business driver and continues to be
among our greatest priorities. As a company, we can lead
the way only if our people lead at all levels.
That’s why we continue to invest in programs that foster
leadership, teamwork, diversity and innovation across the
organization. In fact, MasterCard was again named to
the “Training Top 125” list by Training magazine, which
recognizes the best global companies for employer-
sponsored training and development.
Consumer Education
In 2007, we continued to support consumer
education initiatives in regions around the
world, with programs in place in Australia,
Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, South
Africa and the United States. We also
introduced new programs in India and Russia.
Meanwhile, our online education program,
Consumo Intelligente™ (Smart Spending),
was launched in Mexico, and its counterpart,
Consumidor Consciente,
™ was launched in Brazil.
These programs underscore our commitment
to educating consumers on the responsible use
of debit, credit and prepaid products.
(1) SpendingPulse is based on aggregate sales activity in the MasterCard payments network, coupled with estimates for all other
payment forms, including cash and checks. Please note that SpendingPulse does not represent MasterCard financial performance.