The assistant helps cardholders identify, understand, and use the benefits attached to their cards, and it is delivered through issuers’ own digital channels. Instead of leaving cardholders to search for benefit information themselves, Mastercard Max surfaces relevant offerings and gives guidance at specific points in the customer journey. According to the official press release, the solution is available for customers and users around the world.
How the assistant works
Mastercard Max combines conversational AI with benefit content from both Mastercard and the card issuer. Cardholders can ask questions in their own words and receive answers specific to their card. In addition, recommendations adjust to card type, eligibility, location, and context.
Mastercard used travel to show how the assistant works. When a cardholder books a trip, the assistant can identify the associated travel benefits. On the way to the airport, it can flag lounge access or Fast Track services and explain how to use them. After arrival, it can point to eligible dining, entertainment or other experiences nearby. Mastercard describes this as turning benefits from a static list into an experience that responds to what the customer is doing.
Issuer integration and rollout
The company manages the agent models, content, and orchestration behind the service, so issuers do not need to build or maintain the assistant themselves. Issuers can embed the solution in mobile banking apps or connect it to an existing assistant through agent-to-agent capabilities. Gustavo Torres, Head of Innovation at C6 Bank, said that the product was designed to integrate with existing issuer experiences while keeping development effort low, with privacy, security, and responsible data practices built in.
C6 Bank already uses multiple AI agents in its customer experience, each assigned a specific function. At the same time, Mastercard Max will be integrated into this set-up to answer cardholder questions and highlight relevant benefits, both at home and abroad.
SNB Group, Nedbank, I&M Bank, and Attijariwafa Bank are also working towards offering the assistant to their customers, which would extend access across multiple markets. Separately, Citi is exploring opportunities to bring Mastercard Max to customers in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Benefits as an engagement lever
The launch targets a recurring problem for issuers: card benefits go unused when cardholders don’t know they exist or are unsure how to access them. Mastercard cited a CardRates survey in which 83% of cardholders said benefits influence their choice of a new preferred credit card. Its own research found that 68% of affluent millennials would use their card more if they knew more about their available benefits.
Mastercard presents the assistant as a way for issuers to make use of benefits they already provide. Bunita Sawhney, Mastercard’s chief consumer product officer, said that giving benefits a more active role in the customer experience could strengthen engagement and create cross-sell opportunities for issuers. Because of the agent-to-agent option, the assistant can operate inside AI interfaces that issuers have already deployed, as in C6 Bank’s case, instead of running as a separate tool.
