Mastercard Incorporated MA recently teamed up with Al Etihad Payments (“AEP”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE (“CBUAE”), to introduce co-badged debit and prepaid cards under the "Jaywan-Mastercard" brand in the United Arab Emirates.
Through the combined capabilities of AEP and Mastercard’s extensive networks, customers will gain access to a broader range of financial services. This partnership will drive the evolution of the UAE’s digital payments ecosystem by working closely with industry stakeholders to deliver flexible, future-ready payment solutions.
These new debit and prepaid cards will provide cardholders with a seamless and secure payment experience, supporting both domestic and international transactions, including e-commerce. The booming digital economy of the UAE might have prompted Mastercard to undertake this partnership with AEP. The increasing propensity of consumers to shop online, elevated Internet usage and rising adoption of smartphones continue to spur digital growth across the UAE.
Benefits of the Recent Move to Mastercard
Moves similar to the latest one are expected to attract new customers to use the card by enriching them with lucrative features and benefits. Increased usage of the card, which carries the Mastercard brand as well, is expected to boost the net revenues that the company derives from its payment network by charging fees to customers based on the gross dollar volume of the cards. Payment network net revenues improved 10% year over year in 2024.
The tech giant seems to place an intensified focus on entering into partnerships to unveil new card offerings aimed to offer enhanced convenience and security. In February 2025, MA partnered with MTN Mobile Money (“U”) Limited to introduce the Virtual Card by MoMo, enabling MTN MoMo subscribers in Uganda to make secure online payments without a physical card or bank account.
In December 2024, Mastercard and Faysal Bank teamed up to launch Pakistan's first Islamic corporate credit cards and SME debit cards, boosting financial flexibility and secure payment solutions.
MA’s Share Price Performance & Zacks Rank
Shares of Mastercard have gained 9.4% in the past year compared with the industry’s 12.7% growth. MA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks in the Business Services space are PagSeguro Digital Ltd. PAGS, Huron Consulting Group Inc. HURN and SPX Technologies, Inc. SPXC. While PagSeguro Digital sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Huron Consulting and SPX Technologies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The bottom line of PagSeguro Digital outpaced estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 9.29%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PAGS’ 2025 earnings indicates an improvement of 3.3% from the 2024 figure. The consensus mark for revenues implies growth of 3.2% from the 2024 figure. The consensus mark for PAGS’ earnings has moved 9.6% north in the past 30 days.
Huron Consulting’s earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 21.54%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HURN’s 2025 earnings indicates an improvement of 10.5% from the 2024 figure. The consensus mark for revenues implies growth of 8.9% from the 2024 figure. The consensus mark for HURN’s earnings has moved 3.5% north in the past 30 days.
The bottom line of SPX Technologies outpaced estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 8.00%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SPXC’s 2025 earnings indicates an improvement of 10.2% from the 2024 figure. The same for revenues implies growth of 8.7% from the 2024 number. The consensus mark for SPXC’s earnings has moved 0.5% north in the past 30 days.
Shares of Huron Consulting and SPX Technologies have gained 49.7% and 14.1%, respectively, in the past year. However, PagSeguro Digital stock has declined 46% in the same time frame.
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Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (PAGS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
