This compares with 774.9 million total authorizations through Christmas Eve in the 2003 holiday season. MasterCard processed $60 billion in card transactions over its network, a 12.9% increase over 2003. MasterCard saw a steady increase in card usage as the holiday season progressed through December. Rather than being the busiest day of the season, Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) was actually the 6th busiest day of the holiday shopping season for MasterCard. MasterCard processed the most authorizations over its network on Thursday, December 23, with 36.9 million transactions moving across its network. The quietest shopping day was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, as it appears that consumers stayed home to enjoy family that day. The procrastinators shopping on Christmas Eve werent alone, as MasterCard handled 30 million authorizations, compared to 28.8 million in 2003.
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