Debit cards included in revised MasterCard, Bank of America pricing agreement

By Jeremy Simon

MasterCard reported that operating subsidiary MasterCard International has revised its agreement with Bank of America in regards to certain pricing arrangements for BofA's use of MasterCard services in the U.S. and overseas.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, MasterCard stated that the agreement was updated "to include new pricing arrangements in exchange for transaction volumes related to the issuance of MasterCard-branded debit cards by Bank of America."

At present, Bank of America issues Visa-branded debit cards, with a spokeswoman for Bank of America noting that the bank currently does not issue MasterCard-branded debit cards.  MasterCard International provides Bank of America with core authorization, clearing, and settlement services.  MasterCard also offers some supplemental user-pay services to Bank of America.

The SEC filing did not make clear whether leading U.S. retail-banking company BofA would begin issuing MasterCard-branded debit cards, and a MasterCard spokeswoman declined to go into detail in regards to the filing.

Published: January 3, 2007

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