Mastercard (MA) Deepens Ties to Help Denmark’s Fintech Arena – September 14, 2022
Mastercard Incorporated (MA – Free Report) has recently cemented its ties with Danish-based fintech startup Copenhagen Fintech to expand more programs and services. These include open banking and startup programs to boost the thriving fintech economy across Copenhagen.
Mastercard remains well equipped to offer the above programs and services to the fintech community in the Scandinavian country. MA has a solid presence in the fast-growing open banking space, offering a range of benefits through varied choices, enhanced services and seamless outcomes. MA continues to be active in pursuing efforts either via collaborations or acquisitions to maintain its dominance in the space.
To offer the necessary assistance to fintechs and startups, Mastercard has a Fintech Express program and an Accelerate portfolio in place. The assistance ranges from offering technological support to helping them roll out products and improved payment solutions. MA also invested significantly in stimulating the prospects of fintechs and startups.
Mastercard remains the preferred option for fintechs due to its strong brand name, local knowledge, expanded capabilities, extensive network and solid global presence. A robust regional base and a broad international reach (including Mastercard) are necessary to strengthen Denmark’s fintech ecosystem, as cited by Copenhagen Fintech management.
MA follows a strategy of building partnerships with fintechs to accelerate digitization worldwide. Teaming up with fintechs expanded its overseas footprint.
This latest initiative highlights Mastercard’s efforts to increase its presence throughout Denmark, which appears to be brewing for quite some time.
As evidence of the same, MA acquired the country’s open banking platform Aiia in 2021. Last year, Mastercard also acquired the Corporate Services business of Denmark-based Nets. Such joint efforts underline MA’s goal of establishing a solid customer base, as well as improving existing solutions and unveiling new ones throughout Denmark and widely in the Nordic region.
In addition, Mastercard shows wisdom in expanding its collaboration with Copenhagen Fintech and effectively serving the Danish fintech environment. In particular, the number of start-ups, new jobs, partnerships and investments in fintech continues to get a boost every year due to the founding of Copenhagen Fintech back in 2016.
Shares in Mastercard have lost 5.6% in a year compared to the industry’s decline of 25%.
Image source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Mastercard currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better rated stocks in the Business Services space are The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG – Free Report), Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR – Free report) and Sterling Check Corp. (STER – Free report). While Avis Budget has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Interpublic Group and Sterling currently have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Interpublic Group’s bottom line beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, at an average rate of 14.30%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IPG’s 2022 earnings suggests a 4.2% improvement from the year-ago reported numbers. The same for revenue suggests a growth of 11.5% from the previous year’s reported figures. The consensus mark for IPG’s 2022 earnings has moved 0.7% north over the past 60 days.
Avis Budget’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, averaging 69.47%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAR’s 2022 earnings is pegged at $47.02, indicating more than double the number reported a year ago. The same for income suggests a growth of 28.3% from last year’s reading. The consensus mark for CAR’s 2022 earnings has moved 0.3% north over the past 30 days.
Sterling’s bottom line beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, averaging 28.32%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STER’s 2022 earnings suggests an improvement of 22.7% from the year-ago reported numbers. The same for revenue suggests a growth of 23.4% from actual years ago. The consensus mark for STER’s 2022 earnings has moved 5.3% north over the past 60 days.
The Avis Budget share has risen 81.6% in a year. However, shares of Interpublic Group and Sterling have lost 26.4% and 18.2% respectively in the same time frame.
