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During the second quarter ended June 30, holders of MasterCard-branded credit and charge cards in the United States initiated 1.59 billion purchases, up slightly from 1.58 billion during the same period a year ago. Sales on those transactions totaled $142 billion, up 2.9% from $138 billion. Transactions in the U.S. initiated with debit MasterCards totaled 1.9 billion, up 18.8% from 1.6 billion. During the quarter, U.S. debit MasterCard-initiated transactions, including PIN-debit purchases switched by competing brands appearing on the same cards, totaled 1.9 billion, up 19% from 1.6 billion a year ago. U.S. purchase volume on debit MasterCards totaled $79 billion, up 18% from $67 billion a year ago. The total number of U.S. MasterCard credit and charge cards at the end of the quarter totaled 273 million, up 1% from 269 million a year ago. The total number of MasterCard credit and charge cards outside the U.S. at the end of the quarter totaled 748 million, up 10% from 681 million. Worldwide purchase volume on debit MasterCards totaled $109 billion, up 22% from $89 billion. During the quarter, worldwide debit MasterCard-initiated transactions totaled $2.43 billion, up 22% from $1.99 billion. The total number of U.S. debit MasterCards issued as of the end of the second quarter reached 117 million, up 13% from 104 million a year ago. The total number of worldwide debit MasterCards issued reached 203 million, up 16% from 175 million. As a company, MasterCard Inc. today reported a $746.7 million net loss for the quarter, a huge drop from net income of $252.9 million during the same period a year ago. MasterCard attributes the loss to costs associated with its litigation settlement with American Express Co. Included in the quarter's results are a $1 billion after-tax charge for the settlement. AmEx filed suit against MasterCard in 2004 alleging it had colluded with Visa Inc. to prevent AmEx from issuing bankcards in the U.S. The companies settled in June (CardLine 6/25). During the quarter, net revenue grew 25%, to $1.25 billion from $996.96 million a year ago.
