MasterCard International recorded a 23 percent generating gross dollar volume (GDV) increase last year and a 22.8 percent increase for the fourth quarter of 2002, with solid transaction growth of 9.9 percent.
Maestro card acceptance in the region has been growing significantly with an increase of 41.2 percent in merchant terminals in 2002 compared to the same period in 2001. As of the fourth quarter 2002, there were over 15.4 million Maestro cards in circulation.
The Ziraat Bank of Turkey is in the process of converting five million of its private label debit cards to Maestro, increasing the number of Maestro cards in Turkey by 30 percent to more than 16 million.
MasterCard holders across the globe used MasterCard-branded cards for about 13.6 billion transactions in 2002, generating GDV of $1.14 trillion, an increase of 15.2 percent over 2001. At year-end, MasterCard’s 25,000 member financial institutions around the world had issued more than 590 million MasterCard- branded cards, a 13.6 percent increase over 2001.
MasterCard International has a comprehensive portfolio of widely accepted payment brands including MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestro. More than 1.7 billion MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestro logos are present on credit, charge and debit cards in circulation. MasterCard serves consumers and businesses, both large and small, in over 210 countries and territories. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
