Payment giant MasterCard has said the company is ready to expand its operations across Africa as it looks to increase its market share in the continent’ electronic payment processing market.
The company’s drive for business diversification and expansion in Africa and beyond appears to be paying off after its 2012 fourth quarter results showed it had surpassed analyst predictions in purchases made by customers using MasterCard.
Their fourth quarter net income excluding litigation charges recorded an 18 percent rise to US$605 million from $514 million it recorded at the same period in 2011.
Ajay Banga, Chief Executive at MasterCard, said in 2013 Africa and Brazil will be their two focus points.
Banga said: “We are gaining traction in our US credit business with some recent wins, continuing to experience momentum in our mobile initiatives around the world, and securing important business in emerging markets like Africa and Brazil.”
MasterCard recently added East Africa’s largest retailer, Nakumatt, to its list of merchants who will introduce the multi-currency EMV MasterCard contactless PayPass payment system and Standard Bank, in South Africa, has already begun rolling out the Muvo card with PayPass.
The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Martina Hund-Mejean, expressed the company’s satisfaction with its performance during the period.
“It was a solid quarter capping a really solid year despite the economic challenges,” she said.
