NEW YORK, May 2 ― MasterCard Inc, the world’s second-largest payments network, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue as people spent more using credit and debit cards.

MasterCard’s net income rose 12.7 per cent to US$1.08 billion (RM4.6 billion), or US$1.00 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from US$959 million, or 86 cents per share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned US$1.01 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 95 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The Purchase, New York-based company’s total revenue rose 11.8 per cent to US$2.73 billion, beating the average estimate of US$2.65 billion.

MasterCard’s shares were up 1.4 per cent at US$117.99 in premarket trading.

MasterCard and bigger rival Visa Inc generate revenue by facilitating credit- and debit-card transactions and their fortunes are closely tied to the health of the economy and consumer spending.

Economic data in the past few months has been largely positive ― the labor market has improved, while average wages are also up.

MasterCard, which processes more than 65,000 transactions a minute, said adjusted gross dollar volumes rose 8 per cent to US$1.18 trillion in the quarter on a local currency basis.

The United States, the company’s largest market, accounted for about 32 per cent of the total gross dollar volumes.

Cross-border volumes ― the value of transactions made by card holders abroad ― increased 13 per cent on a local currency basis.

Total costs rose to US$1.23 billion from US$1.09 billion a year earlier as advertising and marketing spend increased. ― Reuters