All in, this was a solid release from management and one we feel strikes a more positive tone versus the release we got yesterday from peer company Visa. Members will recall, that Visa’s management team indicated that they were seeing cross-border travel rates at around 60% of 2019 levels with the view that it would climb to around 80% by September of 2022, that’s materially behind the 77% level Mastercard management is currently seeing.

While shares are still well off their highs, in part due to fears that Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services such as a Affirm are encroaching on Mastercard’s business, we note that Mastercard is not standing by idly and working to leverage its massive global network and build out Mastercard Installments, its own BNPL offering. However, it is important to note that while Mastercard is wading into this space, management is not looking to replicate the business model of other BNPL players by taking on credit risk, instead similar to the traditional credit card business, management simply wants to help merchants and lenders be able to provide the option while collecting a small fees.$MasterCard(MA)$