Mastercard Strengthens Ties with Uber, Unlocking Revenue Opportunities for Card Issuers

Mastercard has announced that it’s expanding its partnership with Uber, bringing new payment experiences to Uber’s customers as well as couriers and drivers who work for the ride-sharing and delivery company.

The move also has the potential to enhance revenue opportunities for credit card issuers that partner with Mastercard. And quite a few issuers are in that boat.

Mastercard is the second-largest card network in the U.S., trailing only Visa in total purchase volume. Mastercard accounts for more than 25% of the credit card network purchase volume in the U.S. and 24% of the purchase volume globally.  

As more Uber stakeholders use Mastercard credit cards, issuers stand to collect more revenue from interchange. 

Uber also has an impressive global presence, which makes the two companies a suitable match to offer innovative payment solutions to people around the world.

Sherri Haymond, Co-President, Global Partnerships at Mastercard, addressed the breadth of the partnership in a press release announcing the strengthened relationship between the two companies. 

“This partnership connects over 3.5 billion cards and more than 150 million merchants that accept Mastercard globally together with Uber’s community of over 8.5 million earners and 170 million users worldwide,” Haymond said.

Mastercard offers a suite of services that augment payment experiences for business and consumer cardholders. Mastercard Move allows for fast and secure money transfers. Mastercard One Credential lets people access different payment methods from, as the name states, a single credential.

As a part of its expanded partnership with Mastercard, Uber will leverage these tools in its business operations. By connecting its workers to these services, Uber may bolster people’s opinions of Mastercard and all that it is doing to streamline and fortify payment processes.

In turn, people may gain confidence that using their Mastercard card to complete a payment is in their best interest, even as other forms of payment compete for a cardholder’s attention. 

The enhanced partnership empowers credit card issuers who offer Mastercard-branded cards to gain access to a vital segment of the work force — gig workers.

Gig work is the primary source of income for many millennials in the workforce.

A report from TransUnion indicates that 62% of adults in the U.S. earn income by working one or more gig jobs. And 55% of millennials engage in gig work as their primary source of income.

Credit card issuers can promote their support of the gig economy through marketing efforts that highlight the security features and benefits their cards offer gig workers. And they can develop strategies to cross-sell other financial services to gig workers that align with their needs.

Issuers may also be able to reach untapped geographic markets as a result of the deal, opening doors to attract new customers and grow card revenue.