Mastercard today unveiled Mastercard Commerce Media, a new digital media network that takes the guesswork out of advertising.

As a payments network with a dedicated commerce media capability, Mastercard is leveraging its permissioned data, trusted reputation, industry-leading technology and connections to advertisers, publishers and consumers to power smarter, personalized commerce across the board.

With its existing base of 25,000 advertisers and significant reach to 500 million enrolled consumers, Mastercard Commerce Media operates both in owned channels as well as bank and other publishing outlets around the world.

This capability uses proprietary insights from transactions processed by Mastercard — around 160 billion-plus in 2024 alone — and currently delivers a proven up to 22-times return on ad spend (ROAS) for advertisers across categories, including retail, travel, entertainment, dining, everyday spend and more.

“We understand how to connect advertisers to consumers and consumers to the products, services and experiences they value,” said Craig Vosburg, chief services officer at Mastercard. “Mastercard Commerce Media is a natural extension of the trusted connections we’re known for and the work we already do across our unique suite of services. That means we’re not just well-positioned to bring a full-scale commerce media network to life — we’re best-positioned.”

Strategic relationships with Citi, WPP, American Airlines and Microsoft expand the foundation and future of the ecosystem. Mastercard Commerce Media gains a powerful force multiplier through its existing relationship with Citi, delivering both scale and impact. Through a growing collaboration with WPP, Mastercard can extend its footprint and connection to brands and buyers in the traditional media space.

And as agentic commerce advances, Mastercard continues to partner with Microsoft with the aim of enabling Mastercard Commerce Media in Copilot Studio to redefine how commerce happens in real time, ensuring a connected experience whether a human or an agent is driving it.

Advertisers come to Mastercard to deliver tailored offers and content (i.e., cashback, discounts, incentives, advertisements and more) to specific audiences aligned to their own business goals. Within Mastercard’s proprietary Offers platform and in line with the advertiser’s set parameters, Mastercard uses insights from permissioned data to identify the right audience for each offer, even meeting consumers on the move with tailored content as they travel. Consumers who receive offers can activate them on their enrolled card and complete the purchase, which Mastercard can then attribute directly to the served content.

Outside of traditional cashback incentives, Mastercard Commerce Media is an accelerator for brand loyalty. Publishers can structure programs where consumers earn rewards directly in a brand’s cash currency, creating value for mutual benefit. This empowers both brand and consumer, as advertisers can customize the qualifying rules to meet their business goals and consumers unlock greater purchasing power.

Mastercard Commerce Media benefits from complementary solutions across Mastercard’s Services portfolio; on top of foundational card-linking technology, the capability also can be paired with consumer-facing personalization powered by Dynamic Yield and media optimization enabled by Marketing Services. New distribution channels are planned — including point of sale, digital wallets and more — as well as expansions to new markets and deeper integrations with existing Mastercard solutions in 2026 and beyond.