Yahoo Finance Mastercard (MA) & HSBC Middle East to Boost Travel Payments
Mastercard Incorporated MA recently introduced the Mastercard Wholesale Program, a B2B payment product, in the Middle East region in partnership with HSBC Middle East. With the help of the virtual card-based program, HSBC’s travel merchant clients will see smooth automation of buyer and supplier payments.
This initiative extends the steady partnership between the two companies. Utilizing virtual cards, travel organizations will be able to digitize their payment process, which will likely enhance security in the travel value chain and improve liquidity. This move is expected to support the local travel industry, which significantly depends on manual payment methods.
The move is expected to bring more merchants to its network, boosting transactions. Its multi-rail strategy already boasts more than 400,000 travel merchants around the globe.
With eased pandemic restrictions, more and more people have increased spending on travel and entertainment. In fact, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects 4.7 billion people to travel by air this year, up from 4.5 billion recorded in 2019, the pre-pandemic high.
Crypto Platform
In other news, the company expanded its Crypto reach with a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform launched for users in Europe and Latin America. The “Crypto Credential” service will enable users to use a simple username rather than typical long and complex blockchain addresses.
The pilot ecosystem will enable users in 13 countries to conduct cross-border and domestic transfers in multiple currencies and across various blockchains. The ease of transaction through the exchange of metadata will likely bring more trust to these transactions.
Price Movements
Shares of Mastercard have gained 20.4% in the past year compared with the industry’s 18% growth.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Mastercard currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the broader Business Services space can look at some better-ranked stocks like Global Payments Inc. GPN, Paysafe Limited PSFE and WEX Inc. WEX, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Global Payments’ 2024 earnings is currently pegged at $11.63 per share, indicating 11.6% year-over-year growth. It beat estimates in each of the past four quarters with an average surprise of 1.1%. The consensus mark for GPN’s revenues of $9.2 billion suggests a 6.4% increase from the year-ago level.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Paysafe’s current-year earnings is now pegged at $2.47 per share, indicating 6% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates thrice in the past four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 18.3%. The consensus mark for PSFE’s revenues of $1.7 billion suggests a 6.5% increase from the year-ago level.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WEX’s 2024 earnings of $16.26 per share suggests 9.8% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates thrice in the past four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 3.3%. The consensus estimate for WEX’s current year revenues is pegged at $2.7 billion, indicating a 7.6% increase from a year ago.
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Mastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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