Thailand Financial News

MasterCard Worldwide today announced successful fourth quarter and full year results for the Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA)  region. For the quarter ending 31 December, the region witnessed double-digit growth in purchase transactions (22.7%), gross transactions (21.3%), purchase volume (18.6%), cash transactions (16.2%) and cards issued (11.1%), versus the same period in 2005.

As at 31 December 2006, over 180 million MasterCard cards (excluding Maestro? and Cirrus) had been issued by MasterCard customer financial institutions in APMEA.

Cardholders in the region made more than 669 million purchase transactions in the fourth quarter of 2006 and cardholders could use their MasterCard cards at more than 7.7 million acceptance locations. Full Year 2006 Results - For the year ended 31December 2006, the APMEA region saw particularly impressive growth in cash transactions (27.3% to reach 655 million) gross transactions (21.8 % to reach 3.06 billion) and purchase transactions (20.4% to over 2.4 billion) versus 2005. The region’s strong performance was also fueled by growth in purchase volume of 17.9 % versus 2005 to 184 billion. In addition to the performance highlights, MasterCard in the APMEA region also reported a number of significant achievements for the year ended 31December 2006. MasterCard PayPass Momentum: MasterCard continued to witness momentum in the uptake of its “contactless” PayPass technology in 2006. The year saw the launch of major pilots, full scale roll-outs and card programs across several markets in the region.  Malaysia saw the launch of the OneSmart MasterCard PayPass, the industry’s first internationally accepted, dual-interface contactless EMV payment solution. Australia witnessed the launch of a PayPass pilot program with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Japan saw its first full scale roll-out of PayPass in collaboration with Orient Corporation and IKSPIARI Co. Ltd. MasterCard also announced the trial of OneSmart? MasterCard? PayPass? at Standard Bank’s head office campus in Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition, innovative PayPass devices such as the Chinatrust MasterCard PayPass watch and the three-dimensional PayPass key fob – in the shape of a soccer ball – both world firsts were launched in Taiwan. Global Commercial Products:  MasterCard strengthened its global commercial product offerings in the region by forging successful collaborations with industry players which led to the launch of several card programs across the region. Key amongst these was the announcement of an agreement with Abacus International to provide corporations in Asia/Pacific with the option to receive line item travel expense details to better manage their financial data. Also announced was the first enhanced data program with Carlson Wagonlit Travel which uses the MasterCard Smart Data OnLineTM functionality, to bring to Chinese corporations the ability to capture, integrate and analyze corporate card usage for travel purchases virtually whenever they need to. Furthermore, card launches such as the China Merchant Bank AirPlus MasterCard Corporate Card program in China, the SME Gold Debit MasterCard card in India, the Niaga corporate card in Indonesia and the expansion of the Citigroup commercial cards program in Malaysia lent impetus to the global commercial products platform in the region. Innovative Cards Programs: MasterCard launched several innovative card programs that continued to gain traction across the Asia/Pacific region. Key markets across South-East Asia, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines drove momentum in the area of premium card programs with the launch of Titanium and Platinum card programs in collaboration with key customer financial institutions. MasterCard also made significant expansions into the debit arena that included the launch of an Unembossed Debit card program with the National Bank of Egypt, the mc2 IBQ MasterCard Unembossed Debit Card in Qatar (the first debit card of its kind in Qatar and the Middle East & Levant region) and the first debit MasterCard offering with a major bank (Westpac) in Australia. Processing:  In leveraging its vast experience in payment processing to customize solutions for competitive advantage, MasterCard Asia/Pacific (Australia) Pty Ltd in collaboration with Bendigo Bank Limited and Customers Limited announced the completion of a shareholders agreement to establish Australia’s newest payments processing business “Strategic Payments Services Pty Limited (SPS)” in late May 2006. Bendigo Bank Limited and Customers Limited each hold a 40% equity stake in the venture with MasterCard holding the remaining 20%. Security Leadership: MasterCard continued to build on its commitment to security leadership through 2006 through a series of initiatives and collaborations. Key amongst these was the 2006 Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Forum hosted by MasterCard in collaboration with payment industry players on 20 November in Tokyo and 22 November in Osaka. In Singapore, MasterCard also launched its Hidden Image Reader pilot program with Best Denki and OCBC Bank. This program was the first of its kind in South-East Asia. Retail/Sponsorships: MasterCard augmented its affiliation with the retail sector across the Asia/Pacific through its sponsorship of major retail events in the region such as the Great Singapore Sale, the Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival, the Taipei Great Sale and more recently the Singapore Fashion Festival. Consumer Education/Corporate Social Responsibility:

In order to give consumers access to free, easy-to-understand tools to help manage their personal finances, MasterCard announced the launch of the ‘MasterCard Financial Know How’ program in Taiwan and the ‘2006 Youth Education Program (YEP) MasterCard Campus Credit Card & Financial Management Education Campaign’ in Beijing. Also launched was ‘Budget Basics’, an online consumer education program designed to give Australians and New Zealanders access to easy information to help manage finances. Knowledge Leadership: Augmenting the knowledge leadership program were launches of the first and second titles in a series of books on Asian consumer trends – Holding up Half of the Sky - the New Women Consumers of Asia and The Glittering Silver Market -The Rise of the Elderly Consumers in Asia by Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic advisor to MasterCard Worldwide in Asia/Pacific. A number of interesting and topical MasterInsights Reports were also published throughout the year, as part of the series of ongoing research and analysis of business dynamics, financial policies and regulatory activities. Furthermore, as part of its continued commitment to research and education in the region, MasterCard in collaboration with U21Global launched the MasterCard U21Global Scholarship Program for Women in Travel and Tourism. The program aims to empower working women professionals to stay ahead of industry trends and realize their full potential.

About MasterCard Incorporated Contacts:

Eileen Wee, governments;

the company’s strong capital position and commitment to drive value for its shareholders.