Mastercard

Some of the key events about Mastercard

• 1966

  Interbank Card Association (later Mastercard) was founded to create a national credit card network
• 1968

  Launched its first credit card outside the United States
• 1979

  Introduced the first electronic payment system for authorizing credit card transactions
• 1983

  Introduced laser holograms on cards to enhance security and prevent counterfeiting
• 1985

  Faced antitrust lawsuit from Visa for exclusivity agreements with banks
• 1996

  Criticized for high interchange fees charged to merchants
• 1997

  Launched Mastercard PayPass, an early contactless payment technology
• 2002

  Completed initial public offering (IPO) and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange
• 2002

  Lost a major antitrust lawsuit regarding debit card practices
• 2006

  Introduced the "Priceless" advertising campaign, which became globally recognized
• 2006

  Sued by American Express for anticompetitive practices
• 2010

  Acquired DataCash, expanding its e-commerce payment gateway capabilities
• 2010

  Blocked donations to WikiLeaks, leading to accusations of censorship
• 2012

  Agreed to pay $72 million to settle a lawsuit over foreign transaction fees
• 2013

  Faced criticism for data breach affecting 40 million card accounts
• 2016

  Acquired VocaLink, enhancing its ability to process bank-to-bank transactions
• 2016

  Fined $57 million by UK regulators for anti-competitive behavior
• 2018

  Fined €570 million by the European Commission for artificially raising payment processing fees
• 2019

  Accused of overcharging 46 million UK consumers in a £14 billion class action lawsuit
• 2020

  Committed $250 million to support small businesses globally during the COVID-19 pandemic

Disclaimer: This material is written based on information taken from open sources, including Wikipedia, news media, podcasts, and other public sources.