By Andrea Vaccari, Product Manager, Messenger

Today we’re starting to roll out Instant Games on Messenger more broadly for the 1.2 billion people who use Messenger every month. In addition, we’re also launching the new features that we exclusively previewed to developers at our annual F8 conference. These include rich gameplay features, which allow developers to create unique and sophisticated experiences and Game bots to help game makers surface exciting features like new levels and rewards. When developers start to take advantage of these new capabilities everyone wins with more dynamic and engaging gaming experiences.

Rich gameplay features such as turn-based games (our most requested feature) can also weave in leaderboards and tournaments, and offer more visually engaging and customizable game messages during play. Game bots help re-engage players by calling out new game options and encouraging competition with updates on the leaderboards.

One of the first games to take advantage of the new rich gameplay features is Zynga’s Words With Friends. Words With Friends, one of the most popular game apps of all time, is now available as a feature-rich, turn-based game right in Messenger.

 

People will begin to see new features as game developers start to incorporate the new capabilities with one of Instant Games on Messenger’s biggest hits, Blackstorm’s EverWing, being among the first to use Game bots. Depending on what device you use and where you are located, there are now up to 50 games titles available on Messenger, with more being introduced almost every week. We’re also excited to be bringing the world’s #1 pool game — Miniclip’s 8 Ball Pool — to Instant Games very soon.

The new Instant Games on Messenger will roll out over the next few weeks worldwide for both iOS and Android.

Succeeds Rob Reeg, Who Was a Driving Force in Evolution of Mastercard over the Past Two Decades

PURCHASE, N.Y. – April 28, 2017 – Mastercard today announced the appointment of Ed McLaughlin to president, Operations and Technology, effective May 1, 2017. McLaughlin succeeds Rob Reeg, who will move to a consulting role reporting to Ajay Banga, president and CEO, and will help to ensure a smooth transition through October 1, 2017.

In this role, McLaughlin will oversee all of Mastercard’s technology functions, including the global network, processing platforms, information security and technology operations. For the past 16 months, McLaughlin has served as the company’s chief information officer, directing the development efforts for products and services, implementing the IT digital roadmap, and managing the development of Mastercard’s global tech hubs.

“Ed’s experience and know-how across our portfolio, combined with an entrepreneurial mindset, made him the ideal choice to continue the growth and advancement of our technology operations,” said Banga. “He’s a proven entity to our teams, our customers and industry stakeholders. It’s this foundation of delivering meaningful products and the highest levels of security that will continue to differentiate us in this increasingly digital world.”

In 2010, McLaughlin was named chief emerging payments officer, leading the development and launch of the company’s digital strategy, partnerships and platforms, including Masterpass, Mastercard Send and Mastercard Digital Enablement System (MDES), the digital token program. McLaughlin joined Mastercard in 2005 as head of bill payment and healthcare, and was named chief franchise development officer in 2008.

Prior to joining Mastercard, McLaughlin led product and strategy at Metavante, a financial services technology company, and was co-founder and CEO of Paytrust, an online payments company acquired by Metavante in 2002. Earlier in his career, he was the executive vice president of product and marketing at LogicWorks, Inc., a start-up data modeling software. McLaughlin is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Over the course of 22 years, Reeg played a significant role in guiding the organization through its evolution as a technology company. He was the chief architect of the company’s strategic processing platform and global network operations.

Reeg originally joined Mastercard in 1995, before being named chief technology officer in 2005. He assumed his most recent position on the company’s executive management team in May 2008. Prior to joining Mastercard, Reeg held IT and business leadership positions with Sprint Corp., Cleveland Pneumatic, Totco Inc. and Conoco Inc.

“It would be impossible to recount all of Rob’s many contributions and accomplishments over the past two decades,” said Banga. “He’s pushed us to be at the cutting edge of operational efficiency and accuracy. Rob brought that same passion and caring to our culture and our people, being a tireless advocate for diversity and inclusion initiatives. We wish Rob and his family every happiness in this next chapter.”

About Mastercard
Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

Contact: Seth Eisen, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 914-249-3153

Original author: Seth Eisen

By Chris Sonderby, Deputy General Counsel

Today we are releasing our latest Global Government Requests Report for the second half of 2016, which details the number of government requests we received for data, as well as the number of items of content restricted for violating local law in countries where our service is available.

Government requests for account data increased by 9% globally compared to the first half of 2016, from 59,229 to 64,279 requests. About half of the data requests we received from law enforcement in the US contained a non-disclosure order that prohibited us from notifying the user. 

The number of content restrictions for violating local law went down by 28% globally compared to the first half of 2016, from 9,663 to 6,944. Our prior two reports had reflected more restrictions based largely on French content restrictions of a single image from the November 13, 2015 Bataclan terrorist attack in Paris.

For the first time, we’re also including information about internet disruptions that impacted access to Facebook products and services during the half. Internet disruptions harm local economies and prevent people from sharing and communicating with their family and friends.

As we have previously emphasized, we apply a rigorous approach to every government request we receive to protect the information of the people who use our services. We scrutinize each request for legal sufficiency, no matter which country is making the request, and challenge those that are deficient or overly broad. We do not provide governments with “back doors” or direct access to people’s information. 

We also continue to seek ways to work with partners in industry and civil society to push governments around the world to reform surveillance in a way that protects their citizens’ safety and security while respecting their rights and freedoms. Since our last report, we received an update on a US court case in which Facebook fought to protect people from overreaching search warrants. While the court in New York recognized that our case raised “novel and important substantive issues,” it found that the lower court’s order denying our challenge was “nonappealable,” and declined to review it further. Nevertheless, we are grateful to the many organizations that joined us in challenging these warrants, and we’re continuing to partner with them to support legislation proposed in New York that would clarify the ability of providers to formally contest defective search warrants. 

More broadly, we believe that reforms are needed beyond New York. The current process for handling cross border requests for data is slow and cumbersome, and legitimate requests are often subject to months and months of delays. We believe that companies, governments, civil society organizations, and academics should work together to improve this process and to raise human rights standards throughout the world.  We will continue to work with partners in industry and civil society to push governments around the world to reform surveillance in a way that protects their citizens’ safety and security while respecting their rights and freedoms, while recognizing the obligation of governments to uphold the law and protect their residents.

Please see the full report for more information.

Purchase, NY – May 2, 2017 – Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) today announced its financial results for its first quarter of 2017 through an earnings release that is available on the company’s Investor Relations website at www.mastercard.com/investor.  The earnings release will be furnished with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on a Form 8-K and available here.

At 9:00 a.m. ET today, the company will host a conference call to discuss these financial results. The dial-in information for this call is 877-201-0168 (within the U.S.) and 647-788-4901 (outside the U.S.), and the passcode is 89097079. A replay of the call will be available for 30 days and can be accessed by dialing 800-585-8367 (within the U.S.) and 416-621-4642 (outside the U.S.), using passcode 89097079.

This call and all related materials can also be accessed through the Mastercard Investor Relations website at http://investor.mastercard.com/investor-relations/events-and-presentations/default.aspx.

About Mastercard Incorporated
Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

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Contacts:
Investor Relations: Warren Kneeshaw or Jesal Meswani, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 914-249-4565
Media Relations: Seth Eisen, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 914-249-3153

Mastercard 1Q17 Earnings Release

Original author: Seth Eisen

Perched above the Dubai Fountain and in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa, Apple Dubai Mall opened to thousands of customers Thursday afternoon. Customers were the first in the Middle East to experience the just-announced Today at Apple programs.

GarageBand for iOS brings even more sophisticated music creation options to iPhone and iPad, while still remaining fun and easy to use. It features a redesigned sound browser that makes it faster than ever to explore Touch Instruments and quickly find the exact sounds the user wants.

Alchemy, one of the world’s most innovative modern synthesizers and a favorite of Logic Pro users, comes to iOS and includes a rich collection of over 150 Apple-designed patches from a wide variety of genres, including EDM, Hip Hop, Indie, Rock, Pop and more. And with Alchemy’s Transform Pad, users can morph between eight sonic snapshots in real-time, to create expressive synth performances.