Mastercard key fab. October 2008 (Credit: Davies + Starr)On the desktop screens at MasterCard Worldwide, you can see the economic pulse of the globe in real time. In the suburban St. Louis control center of MasterCard's global-payments network, rows of analysts keep watch over the flow of nearly 20 billion transactions a year in 210 countries, more than the United Nations has members. When the matrix of green lights flashes a red spot, the money traffic controllers immediately reroute the transactions to keep commerce flowing. Meanwhile, in suburban New York City, the staff at MasterCard Advisors monitors the payment network, plus surveys and other outside data, to produce bulletins on America's retail health. In early October, days before retailers released their monthly results, Advisors noted sharply dropping consumer sales during September, with furniture down 13.3% and electronics falling 13.8% from a year ago. "Toward the end of the month the declines were into the high teens," says vice president Michael McNamara. "That coincided with financial news. Consumers are at the eye of the storm."
MasterCard is at the center of it as well. Concern about credit card debt is front-page news. The company's well-being is closely tied to consumer spending and to the fate of its thousands of business partners: the banks. "As the economy and our customers suffer, we're going to suffer," says Robert Selander, CEO of MasterCard since 1997. "Our customers' appetites are going to be very reduced next year because of the new challenges they're facing."
MasterCard, which started in 1966 as a bank-owned entity to promote cards and transmit payments, has been fending for itself since 2006, when it went public. Last year it generated revenue of $4.1 billion, up 24% from 2006, putting it close to entering the Fortune 500 for the first time (it ranked No. 548 last year (2007) on the Fortune
VisaFortune 500American ExpressThe Nilson ReportCarbon: Comstock 11—Jupiter Images/Comstock Images/Alamy; Strip: PM—Alamy; Thumb: Fingerprint—AlamyClick above to enlarge.CEO Selander, at headquarters in Purchase N.Y. wants a bigger share of customers wallets.David Yellen
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