Credit card giant Mastercard (MA) is acquiring privately held Swedish start-up Minna Technologies, whose systems make managing subscription services easier.
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Minna Technologies represents a step by Mastercard to offer services other than credit cards. While credit cards have been Mastercard’s bread and butter for decades, there is room for expansion, especially into areas such as fraud prevention and cybersecurity. Minna Technologies offers a way to view all subscription services in one single application, whether that’s a banking app or a central hub.
When all the subscription information is in one place, canceling them as needed becomes a much simpler task. While making subscriptions easier to cancel might hurt merchants, it could put more cash in the pockets of consumers.
New Partnership with Amazon
Mastercard is also getting together with Amazon (AMZN) to buildout its services in the Middle East and Africa. The partnership involves Amazon Payment Services and Mastercard Gateway producing a single-source payment solution. The solution will be available in 40 different markets, including Kuwait, Oman, and South Africa.
With digital payments soaring, providing a simplified means of accessing such tools should be attractive to consumers, and make it more likely that those payments will be processed by Mastercard. Surveys show more than half (55%) of consumers are displeased with the digital operations of small retailers.
Is Mastercard a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MA stock based on 21 Buy and four Hold recommendations assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. The average MA price target of $527.82 per share implies 19.03% upside potential from current levels.
