Total purchases on MasterCard credit and offline debit cards increased 11.1% for the three months ending September 30, 2004, as the number of MasterCard cards issued worldwide rose to 656.0 million. Canadian GDV rose 12.7% for the three months ended September 30 compared to the same period last year, and was up 13% for the first three quarters of the year, compared to the same period last year. Performance highlights for the third quarter of 2004 include: - For the nine months ended September 30, MasterCard GDV totaled $1.0 trillion, up 9.5% over the same period a year ago. GDV includes both purchase and cash volume; - MasterCards nearly 25,000 customer financial institutions around the world issued 656.0 million MasterCard-branded cards, an 8.0% increase over third quarter 2003; - The value of purchases on MasterCard-branded cards, a significant measure of success, continued to show strong growth worldwide. Globally, purchase volume rose 11.1% to $266.8 billion for the third quarter of 2004 compared to the same period in 2003. In the nine months ended September 30, purchase volume rose 12.2%. - Currently, cardholders can use their MasterCard cards at 24 million acceptance locations around the world, including over 1 million ATMs and other locations where cash can be obtained. MasterCards performance in the third quarter was fueled by growth in both credit and offline debit programs. GDV for credit and charge programs worldwide grew 8.4% to $298.5 billion, and GDV for offline debit programs rose 17.7% to $67.4 billion over the same period in 2003 (see Note to Editors). Gross transactions for credit and offline debit programs increased by 11.3% in 2004 compared with the third quarter of 2003. Significant Milestones Achieved MasterCard also achieved a wide range of significant business milestones in the third quarter: - Bank of the West, which currently serves 450,000 debit card customers and operates 296 branches in California, Oregon, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington State and Idaho, is moving its debit card program, along with the recently-acquired portfolios of Union Safe Deposit Bank and Community First Bankshares, to MasterCard. - McDonalds will accept MasterCard PayPass, a new contactless payment option utilizing radio frequency technology, at select McDonalds restaurants in the U.S. Participating McDonalds restaurants in Dallas and the New York metropolitan area will implement MasterCard PayPass later this year, with additional locations to be added in 2005. The technology will allow cardholders to make purchases at participating McDonalds restaurants without swiping their card through a traditional card-reader. - MasterCard implemented a range of new initiatives aimed at providing merchants with new tools that will help them maximize the benefits and value of accepting MasterCard payment cards. This included the launch of MasterCardmerchant.com, a website for the merchant community that provides information about MasterCard acceptance programs and insight into how to most effectively leverage card acceptance. MasterCard also published a new manual to provide merchants with MasterCard rules and procedures, which can be downloaded free of charge from the MasterCard merchant website. - MasterCard launched new print advertising executions as part of the brands successful Priceless advertising campaign. For the first time, MasterCard advertising features national merchants as part of the brands Priceless posit
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