In the past 20
years alone, MasterCard has achieved an impressive list of
"firsts."
1981
- MasterCard introduced the industry's first gold card program.
1983 - MasterCard was the first to use the laser hologram
as an antifraud device.
1987 - A MasterCard® card became the first
payment card issued in the People's Republic of China.
1989 - MasterCard introduced the first bankcard with a
tamper-resistant signature panel.
1990 - MasterCard unveiled a co-branding strategy and
became the industry's co-branding leader.
1991 - MasterCard, in partnership with Europay
International, launched Maestro®, the world's first
truly global online debit program.
1992 - Maestro completed the first-ever coast-to-coast
national online debit transaction in the United States.
1996 - MasterCard Global Service® became the
first program to provide cardholders with telephone access to core
emergency and special services in 21 languages, from 130 countries
(today, in 196 countries and 46 languages).
1996 - MasterCard contracted with AT&T to replace its
transaction network infrastructure with the industry's first
virtual private network design, which delivers faster response
time and lower costs. (In 1998, alone, the VPN reduced cumulative
payment processing time by nearly half a century.)
1997 - MasterCard acquired a 51% stake in Mondex
International, which offers the only electronic-cash product that
is globally interoperable, with a multicurrency capability.
1997 - MasterCard was the first payments organization to
cap uniform liability limits for unauthorized use at US$50 for all
U.S.-issued MasterCard-branded consumer cards—both credit and
debit.
1999 - MasterCard and MYCAL Card Co. of Japan implemented
the world's first migration from traditional credit cards to
multiapplication chip cards using the MULTOS™ operating system.
1999 - Mondex™ e-cash became the first commercial product
ever to receive the highest possible ITSEC (Information Technology
Security Evaluation Criteria) security rating.
1999 - The first online purchase of a U.S. Treasury Bond
was made with a MasterCard card.
2000 - MasterCard became the first in the industry to
establish a U.S. rule of no liability for the consumer from the
unauthorized use of payment cards.
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MasterCard began in
the late 1940s when several U.S. banks started giving their
customers specially-issued paper that could be used like cash in
local stores. In 1951, The Franklin National Bank in New York
formalized the practice by introducing the first real credit card in
1951.
Over the next decade,
several franchises evolved where a single bank in each major city
would accept cards as payment with certain merchants they'd chosen
to work with. On August 16, 1966, one of these groups formed the
Interbank Card Association (ICA) which later became MasterCard
International.
Unlike other similar
organizations, ICA was not dominated by a single bank. Member
committees were established to run the association. They established
rules for authorization, clearing and settlement. They also handled
marketing, security and legal aspects of running the organization.
Once the
organization was well underway, it was time to expand globally.
In 1968, ICA began
what is now a huge global network by forming an association with
Banco Nacional in Mexico. Later that year, they formed an alliance
in Europe with Eurocard. The first Japanese members also joined that
year.
Many countries
followed close behind the early international members and by the
late 1970s, ICA had members from as far as Africa and Australia. To
reflect the commitment to international growth, ICA changed its name
to MasterCard. In the 1980s, there was further expansion into Asia
and Latin America. In 1987, MasterCard became the first payment card
to be issued in the People's Republic of China. By 1993, China was
the second largest country in sales volume for MasterCard. In 1988,
the first MasterCard was issued in the Soviet Union.
Today, there are more
than 30 MasterCard offices around the world including India,
Thailand, Chile, South Korea and Taiwan.
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