TORONTO, August 19, 2009 – The Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Marlies and the Lakeshore Lions Club announced today their partnership with MasterCard Canada to provide hockey players of all levels with more opportunities to achieve their dreams through the new MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence™.

Scheduled to open in September 2009, the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence is the first community ice facility to be built in the Toronto-area in the last 25 years. It will also serve as the Maple Leafs and Marlies practice facility and will be home to the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey School. Read More

TORONTO / CALGARY, August 5, 2009 – WestJet announced today it is teaming up with RBC Royal Bank and MasterCard for the upcoming launch of its new travel rewards credit card. The new co-branded card will allow guests to earn WestJet rewards. More details on this program will be unveiled this fall.

“We are extremely pleased to work with RBC and MasterCard,” said Sean Durfy, WestJet President and CEO. “Our continued profitable growth will be strongly complemented by two of Canada’s pre-eminent brands. We take enormous pride in working with companies that share our values and respect for corporate culture, and we look forward to a hugely successful relationship with RBC and MasterCard.”

The new WestJet credit card, to be issued by RBC with MasterCard, will complement RBC’s other travel rewards cards and appeal to North American and Caribbean travellers who want to be rewarded by their preferred airline. Read More

MasterCard^® PayPass^™ survey reveals more than half of cottage commuters spend up to three hours on the road to escape the city
TORONTO, July 15, 2009 – Isn’t it ironic that driving away from the city to escape traffic can mean you’re driving right into it?  MasterCard PayPass today launched the Cottage Commute Survival Guide – a series of tips to help Canadians make the most of the inevitable slow drive to cottages, cabins and camping grounds across the country.
A new MasterCard PayPass survey reveals that 54 per cent of Canadian cottagers drive up to three hours to get to their summer destination, so it’s important to keep car mates from getting cranky and keep the pleas of “are we there yet” at bay. The guide offers tips on what to bring, games to play and how to cope with traffic. Read More

TORONTO, July 13, 2009 – Canadian Tire reinforced its commitment to providing the most secure and convenient payment options for its customers when it announced, today, the completion of the rollout of new point-of-sale terminals in Canadian Tire Retail stores across the country. With the rollout now complete, Canadian Tire is the largest retailer in the country to complete a national rollout, ensuring that the 475 stores in its network are chip card compatible.

The most secure payment option in the industry, chip card technology uses a small computer processor chip with memory, logic and a configuration of software applications, significantly enhancing security. The chip holds information in an encrypted form and requires the use of a PIN (personal identification number) to complete the payment process. Working closely with MasterCard Canada and Moneris Solutions Corporation (“Moneris”), Canadian Tire is the first Canadian retailer to rollout chip compatible point-of-sale terminals across the country. Read More

TORONTO, July 7, 2009 – MasterCard Canada agrees with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that a non-regulated solution to small merchant concerns about credit and debit card acceptance is best.

MasterCard has already been in discussions with the CFIB and made proposals to address issues of concern and has requested and received details of the CFIB proposal today. MasterCard looks forward to continued productive discussions in upcoming meetings.

Canada has a dynamic and well-functioning payments system where merchants and consumers enjoy unparalleled access to numerous payment methods. Read More