Mastercard Stories

Irish Stories

Mastercard stories

Payzone & Miconex expand local gift cards across Ireland

Shoppers in Ireland can now buy locally branded gift cards at more than 3,000 Payzone outlets, boosting town-centre spending.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • Yesterday

Global Stories

Mastercard stories

Digital Transformation

Rain launches payments alliance for agentic commerce

Card networks and fintech groups are trying to set rules for AI-driven purchases before a projected USD $3 trillion market fragments.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • Today

Software-as-a-Service

SAP Concur launches AI tools for travel & expenses

Finance teams could cut manual work and tighten oversight as SAP Concur rolls out AI tools for approvals, cards and meeting planning.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • Yesterday

Customer Relationship Management

South East Asia & India launch loyalty industry body

The new body seeks to help brands retain customers as Asia-Pacific loyalty spending is forecast to reach USD $141.8 billion by 2030.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • Last week

Data Protection

LUMOS adds Pureprofile research to audience platform

Marketers will gain access to sentiment and research signals as LUMOS expands its audience graph with Pureprofile data.

By Mark Tarre • 4 min read • Last week

Disaster Recovery

Percona Live Amsterdam to unite open source database users

Database teams will compare notes on sovereignty, resilience and compliance as the conference returns to Europe this year.

By Sean Mitchell • 3 min read • Last week

Crypto

Yellow Card raises USD $40 million for stablecoin push

Backers including SC Ventures and Sony Innovation Fund are betting USD $40 million will help widen access to dollar-based payments in emerging markets.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 5 min read • This month

Crypto

Western Union launches Stablecard with Rain in 37 markets

The service lets remittance recipients hold dollar value in 37 markets, helping protect balances from local currency swings before spending via Visa.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • This month

Fintech

Southeast Asia's payment rails leave US merchants behind

US merchants risk missing billions in Southeast Asian sales as local instant-payment rails outgrow cards and stay entrenched.

By Yang Yang Zhang • 5 min read • This month

Digital Transformation

Emburse expands travel & expense partner ecosystem

Customers could gain more choice over travel, payments and expense tools as Emburse adds new partners and broadens its Mastercard tie-up.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 5 min read • This month

Stories from Other Regions

Mastercard stories

Virtual Private Networks

Revolut launches Ultra tier in Singapore for S$899

The subscription aims to woo Singapore's affluent customers with travel perks, investment discounts and bundled services worth more than S$10,000 a year.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 4 min read • Yesterday

Crypto

Lithic & Monavate launch single route to card issuance

Fintechs and crypto firms could cut card-launch complexity as the deal bundles processing, issuing and settlement into one route.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • Last week

Digital Transformation

Digital wallets gain ground in Canada, but cards lead

Cards still dominate Canadian spending, but digital wallets now capture nearly a third of online transactions and are set to keep rising.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 3 min read • Last week

Network Security

Circle names BlackRock & Visa for Arc validator group

Arc's push towards a public launch gains weight as BlackRock, Visa and other financial heavyweights agree to help secure the network.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 5 min read • This month

Cloud Security

IBM, Red Hat offer Lightwell free to US institutions

Eligible US universities and non-profits can now use Lightwell to patch open source flaws without overhauling systems or sharing data.

By Sean Mitchell • 3 min read • This month

Fintech

Ecommpay backs ICAEW campaign for small businesses

The deal gives accountants advising smaller firms fresh guidance on online payments, banking and cash flow as merchants seek quicker, simpler set-ups.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 3 min read • This month

Wearables

Apple Pay launches in the Philippines for shoppers

Shoppers in the Philippines now have access to Apple's contactless payment service across stores, apps and websites, with banks and merchants on board.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 3 min read • This month