> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # MasterCard Helps Retailers Perform Better with Big Data - URL: https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/mastercard-helps-retailers-perform-better-with-big-data-2/ - Published: 2013-12-17T00:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-04T05:37:36.000Z - Description: For MasterCard, big data is big business and with all their data at hand they are helping merchants gain better insights and more revenue. - Author: Dr Mark van Rijmenam, CSP - Tags: Big Data It may be obvious that the massive credit card company Mastercard is heavily involved in [big data](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/big-data-speaker/). They [have](http://www.slideshare.net/morellimarc/mastercard-big-data-2013?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) over 1.9 billion credit cards world wide that do over 65 billion transactions per year. They have over 32 million online and offline merchants that accept credit cards from Mastercard and 22.000 issuers and their credit cards are accepted in 210 countries. They use 700.000 rules to automatically clean, aggregate and augment their over 10 Petabytes of data. Apart from of course preventing fraudulent behaviour and identifying and preventing fraudulent transaction before they occur, Mastercard applies big data in another innovative way. It knows what everyone buys and they are using big data techniques to offer reports, insights, customer information and forecasts to their merchants. The data that MasterCard obtains is however still not yet ready to use. With each transaction they receive data regarding the amount of the transaction, the merchant name, the time, date and the credit card number. They then strip the account number and make the data anonymous, according to Gary Kearns, group executive for the company's information services business in an article on [ZDNet](http://www.zdnet.com/why-mastercard-wanted-mu-sigmas-big-data-mojo-7000011075/?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com). However the problem is that the data obtained is messy as the name of the merchant on a point-of-sale machine is a free-text field, resulting in many different names for the same merchants, retail chains or businesses. In the past years MasterCard has worked on creating the rules, algorithms and engines to clean such data and make it usable. As a result MasterCard most-funded big data startups currently. Together they will [offer](http://www.businessinsider.com/mastercard-big-data-for-shopping-habits-2013-2?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) joint products using MasterCard's databases and Mu Sigma's analytics technology. One of such products is that MasterCard [decided](http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2012/10/17/coming-soon-every-big-business-is-an-analytics-business/?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) to sell specific customer segment information to its merchants. Of course, as all personal identifiable information is stripped, no private information is shared, but specifically it sells information on detailed customer segments and spending patterns. MasterCard crunches all the data that it can get its hands on, [including](http://www.slideshare.net/morellimarc/mastercard-big-data-2013?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) over five years of historical data, and consequently creates segments about customers that are loyal to a certain product category or store or on other specific patterns. This provides great insights. A nice example is that the data shows that every city has its own spending DNA as the below image from a [presentation](http://www.slideshare.net/morellimarc/mastercard-big-data-2013?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) by Gary Kearns shows: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/cc/afcca743-e1e6-4752-bf81-782fb033f39c/content/images/2021/11/bds_20141120192239_How-Open-Data-Portals-Will-Stimulate-Innovation-and-Economic-Growth-chart-8.png) Based on the transaction data MasterCard can create very detailed segments of its customers. Something bought at a [music](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/ai-music-speaker/) store for example could reveal that the person is a musician. Regular restaurant payments reveal that the person enjoys dining and going out. This type of information helps MasterCard as well as its merchants to better understand its customers and create 360 degrees views in real-time based on customer spending. MasterCard has big plans with its data as can be shown by the recent opening of an Advanced Analytics Centre of Excellence in India. This data centre helps MasterCard to even better analyse global spending trends, an important key differentiator for MasterCard. Gary Kearns explained to [PYMNTS](http://www.pymnts.com/briefing-room/issuers/playmakers/2013/MasterCard-s-Secret-to-Big-Data-Monetization-Might-Surprise-You/?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) that one of the centre's key missions is to monetize its data and better deliver "unique solutions" and "actionable insights.” For MasterCard, big data is big business and with all their data at hand they are helping merchants gain better insights and more revenue while in the mean time grow their own business. Real-time data and analytics have a big impact on MasterCard’s merchants and MasterCard can help them find previously hidden opportunities. At the World Retail Congress Asia Pacific 2013, Andy Mantis, group head of Business Solutions, MasterCard Advisors shared some insights regarding this innovative big data approach. To read more about how MasterCard thinks of big data, head over to their [big data blogs](https://newsroom.mastercard.com/tag/big-data-analytics/?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com). [https://youtu.be/dRAL\_-SVfGs](https://youtu.be/dRAL%5F-SVfGs?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) ##### *Image Credit:* [*Molostock/Shutterstock*](https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Molostock?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) ## Frequently asked questions ### How does Mastercard use big data from transactions? Mastercard collects transaction data including amount, merchant name, time, date and credit card number, then strips the account number to anonymize it. It uses hundreds of thousands of rules to clean, aggregate and augment this data, which is then turned into reports, insights, customer information and forecasts that are offered to merchants to help them better understand spending patterns. [Link to this question](#faq-how-does-mastercard-use-big-data-from-transactions) ### Why is Mastercard's transaction data considered messy? The data is messy because the merchant name entered on a point-of-sale machine is a free-text field, which results in many different names being used for the same merchant, retail chain or business. Mastercard has spent years developing rules, algorithms and engines specifically to clean this data so it becomes usable for analysis and reporting. [Link to this question](#faq-why-is-mastercard-s-transaction-data-considered-messy) ### What kind of customer insights can Mastercard's data reveal? By crunching historical transaction data, Mastercard can create detailed customer segments based on spending patterns and loyalty to certain products or stores. For instance, a purchase at a music store could suggest someone is a musician, while regular restaurant payments could indicate they enjoy dining out. The data also shows that every city has its own distinct spending pattern, sometimes called its spending DNA. [Link to this question](#faq-what-kind-of-customer-insights-can-mastercard-s-data-reveal) ### What is the purpose of Mastercard's Advanced Analytics Centre of Excellence? The Advanced Analytics Centre of Excellence, opened in India, helps Mastercard better analyze global spending trends, which serves as an important differentiator for the company. According to group executive Gary Kearns, one of the centre's key missions is to monetize Mastercard's data and deliver unique solutions and actionable insights to merchants and partners. [Link to this question](#faq-what-is-the-purpose-of-mastercard-s-advanced-analytics)