MasterCard Sees 15.8% Growth In Transaction Volume for Second Holiday Shopping Weekend

ST. LOUIS, MO – MasterCard International saw an increase in transaction volume for the second shopping weekend of the 2004 holiday season. Transactions processed over its Banknet global telecommunications network increased 15.8% year-over-year for the second weekend of the holiday shopping season, measured through Saturday night, and exceeded transaction volume over the Thanksgiving weekend.

MasterCard processed 64.6 million authorizations over its network this year in the second holiday shopping weekend, as compared to 55.8 million for the same period in 2003. This compares to 64.2 million over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

About MasterCard International
MasterCard International is a leading global payments solutions company that provides a broad variety of innovative services in support of our global members’ credit, deposit access, electronic cash, business-to-business and related payment programs. MasterCard International manages a family of well-known, widely accepted payment cards brands including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus® and serves financial institutions, consumers and businesses in over 210 countries and territories. The MasterCard award-winning Priceless® advertising campaign is now seen in 97 countries and in 47 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. For more information go to www.mastercardinternational.com.