We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Small Biz, Big Roadblocks: Mastercard to Smoothen Cross-Border Ride
Read MoreHide Full Article
Key Takeaways
Mastercard released a report highlighting cross-border payment challenges faced by Latin American SMEs.
MA is addressing these issues with Mastercard Move, enabling faster, lower-cost global transactions.
Cross-border volumes for MA rose 15% in Q1 2025, with further growth expected from SME adoption of MA Move.
Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) , in collaboration with Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence and K2, has released a new report. It sheds light on how the existing international payment systems, designed to serve large corporations, fail to address the unique needs and challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America.
Per the report, a significant portion of SMEs in the region are already engaged in global commerce, with three out of five currently working with international suppliers. In countries like Mexico and Brazil, 75% of SMEs have plans to expand their global partnerships. However, these ambitions are constrained by serious obstacles that SMEs often encounter, such as steep fees, unfavorable currency conversion rates and extensive payment delays.
This raises concern since SMEs are a foundational part of Latin America’s economy, representing 98% of the business ecosystem and contributing around 60% of employment.
To address these issues, Mastercard is leveraging its Mastercard Move platform, which encompasses a broad suite of money movement capabilities tailored to the realities of SMEs. Mastercard Move aims to improve cross-border payments by minimizing costs through fewer intermediaries, offering complete transparency with real-time tracking of fees and delivery times, and enabling faster settlement—often same-day or real-time—in more than 150 global markets.
The increased usage of Mastercard Move is expected to expand the SME client base across Latin America and boost its cross-border volumes. Its cross-border volumes advanced 15% on a local currency basis in the first quarter of 2025.
How are Competitors Faring?
Some of Mastercard’s competitors in the Latin American market include PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL - Free Report) and Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) .
PayPal operates in multiple Latin American nations, including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia, where it provides a range of financial and payment services, per reports. Its cross-border total payment volume grew 3% year over year in the first quarter of 2025.
Visa operates in Latin America through strategic initiatives like its acquisition of Pismo and planned majority stake in Prosa, supporting digital payments and real-time processing across the region. Visa’s cross-border volume improved 13% year over year in the second quarter of fiscal 2025.
Shares of Mastercard have gained 23.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s 22.4% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, MA trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, above the industry average of 22.05.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mastercard’s 2025 earnings implies a 9.7% rise from the year-ago period. The consensus mark for revenues indicates 13.3% year-over-year growth.
Image: Bigstock
Small Biz, Big Roadblocks: Mastercard to Smoothen Cross-Border Ride
Key Takeaways
Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) , in collaboration with Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence and K2, has released a new report. It sheds light on how the existing international payment systems, designed to serve large corporations, fail to address the unique needs and challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America.
Per the report, a significant portion of SMEs in the region are already engaged in global commerce, with three out of five currently working with international suppliers. In countries like Mexico and Brazil, 75% of SMEs have plans to expand their global partnerships. However, these ambitions are constrained by serious obstacles that SMEs often encounter, such as steep fees, unfavorable currency conversion rates and extensive payment delays.
This raises concern since SMEs are a foundational part of Latin America’s economy, representing 98% of the business ecosystem and contributing around 60% of employment.
To address these issues, Mastercard is leveraging its Mastercard Move platform, which encompasses a broad suite of money movement capabilities tailored to the realities of SMEs. Mastercard Move aims to improve cross-border payments by minimizing costs through fewer intermediaries, offering complete transparency with real-time tracking of fees and delivery times, and enabling faster settlement—often same-day or real-time—in more than 150 global markets.
The increased usage of Mastercard Move is expected to expand the SME client base across Latin America and boost its cross-border volumes. Its cross-border volumes advanced 15% on a local currency basis in the first quarter of 2025.
How are Competitors Faring?
Some of Mastercard’s competitors in the Latin American market include PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL - Free Report) and Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) .
PayPal operates in multiple Latin American nations, including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia, where it provides a range of financial and payment services, per reports. Its cross-border total payment volume grew 3% year over year in the first quarter of 2025.
Visa operates in Latin America through strategic initiatives like its acquisition of Pismo and planned majority stake in Prosa, supporting digital payments and real-time processing across the region. Visa’s cross-border volume improved 13% year over year in the second quarter of fiscal 2025.
Mastercard’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of Mastercard have gained 23.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s 22.4% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, MA trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, above the industry average of 22.05.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mastercard’s 2025 earnings implies a 9.7% rise from the year-ago period. The consensus mark for revenues indicates 13.3% year-over-year growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
MA currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.