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Mastercard (MA), Bilt Launches Credit Card to Aid US Rent Market

Mastercard Incorporated MA has partnered with the recently launched rewards program Bilt Rewards to introduce a credit card called Bilt Mastercard. Notably, the rewards program was formed by New York-based Kairos in collaboration with the leading U.S. real estate owners including The Blackstone Group, The Related Companies, Equity Residential and many more.

The credit card offers a unique way to pay rent without any transaction fees at any apartment or rental space. Further, the card enables cardholders to earn points, which can be subsequently redeemed for travel and rent credits. The added points can also serve the purpose of down payments and help consumers in realizing their goal of owning a house. Besides, rewards can be utilized to the maximum extent as the card has no annual fee.

Mastercard has left no stone unturned in launching cost-effective solutions for bringing more individuals and businesses under the ambit of a growing digital economy. The recent deal is a testament to its efforts to popularize contactless payments. Bilt Mastercard can either be utilized to conduct online purchases or else linked to the cardholder’s mobile wallet through the Bilt Rewards App for availing at the point-of-sale purchases.

The usage of credit cards can often lead to mounting debt burden. To address this issue, Mastercard partnered with Bilt Rewards to devise BiltProtect. With each rent payment, the feature directly extracts funds from one’s linked bank account and hence, sets aside the cardholders’ credit lines for addressing other needs. Besides, the cardholders can not only avail lucrative offers with specific merchants but also have access to Mastercard’s unique security and protection solutions.

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Moreover, the recent move reinforces Mastercard’s efforts to roll out innovative financial products and solutions aimed to benefit the U.S. renter’s industry. As Bilt Rewards has started rolling out to more than 2 million units across the United States, the new credit card seems to have been launched at an opportune time.

Notably, purchasing a house had been costly for Americans. The COVID-19 induced financial volatilities has put further pressure on fund availability with consumers. As a result, lesser number of people are purchasing homes, which leaves rent as the only feasible option to address their essential housing needs. This, in turn, has driven demand and pushed up rental rates. As a result, the credit card is likely to enable Mastercard bank on the prevailing scenario.

Furthermore, the international real estate rental industry holds promising prospects. The past year brought several operational headwinds to the market, which included temporary suspension of commercial activities and stringent social distancing measures compelling workers to work remotely. Nevertheless, a gradual economic recovery sets the ground for real estate companies to recommence operations. Per Research and Markets, the global real estate rental market is likely to witness a CAGR of 2.2% this year from the 2020 figure. By 2025, the market is anticipated to attain a 8% CAGR.

Another company in the same space Visa Inc. V partnered with the property management software company Entrata in a bid to equip property managers with enhanced ways of processing digital payments from renters.

Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard, which carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), have gained 28.6% in a year compared with the industry’s growth of 15.3%.

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Zacks Investment Research

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the business services space include EVERTEC, Inc. EVTC and Copart, Inc. CPRT, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

EVERTEC and Copart have a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 23.90% and 32.23%, on average, respectively.

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Mastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Visa Inc. (V) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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Evertec, Inc. (EVTC) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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