Mastercard
Mastercard Mission, Purpose & Impact
Frequently Asked Questions
Mastercard demonstrates commitment to its values by embedding them into how employees work, how leaders lead, and how the company makes decisions. Its culture, The Mastercard Way, is built around three principles: create value, grow together, and move fast. These principles are incorporated into performance reviews, leadership development, talent assessments, compensation decisions, and daily decision-making, helping employees stay accountable for both “what” they do and “how” they do it.
- Values built into performance and leadership: Mastercard reinforces its values through development programs like the Mastercard Leadership Academy, which provides coaching, mentorship, people leader foundations, and executive onboarding aligned with The Mastercard Way. This helps leaders create high-performing teams while emphasizing empathy, transparency, accountability, and collaboration. One leader described “Grow together” as doing what is good for the business “with kindness and while bringing others along.”
- Ethics, governance, and transparency: Mastercard’s governance principles are grounded in honesty, decency, trust, personal accountability, and high standards for data protection and use. The company says it is committed to doing business the right way: ethically, honestly, fairly, transparently, and in compliance with applicable laws. In 2024, 100% of employees certified that they reviewed, understood, and agreed to comply with the Code of Conduct, and 100% completed annual compliance and ethics training.
- Recognition that reflects values in action: Mastercard’s values are also reflected in external recognition, including World’s Most Ethical Companies, Glassdoor Best Places to Work, Forbes World’s Best Employers, TIME World’s Best Companies, and Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. More than 90% of employee survey respondents in 2024 said they are proud to work at Mastercard, reinforcing that employees connect with the company’s culture and purpose.
- Employee and external sentiment: Employees often describe Mastercard as values-driven, collaborative, and people-centered. One employee said Mastercard has “some of the most driven and passionate, yet collegial and friendly professionals,” while external reviews highlight “great culture,” “collaborative, inclusive environment,” “high level of teamwork,” and “top tier benefits.” (Glassdoor and Comparably)
Bottom line: Mastercard demonstrates its values by building them into performance, leadership, governance, ethics, recognition, and everyday employee experiences.
Mastercard Employee Perspectives
As the lines between cybercrime and financial crime continue to blur, innovation is an imperative. Mastercard Threat Intelligence provides customers with actionable, real-time, and targeted risk insights to disrupt fraudulent transactions, inform strategic defense, and ultimately enable a more proactive approach.
On building a technology career at Mastercard:
“When it comes to payment and money, the topic of trust and the feeling of security is important. For technologists working at Mastercard, they can expect the security of a large tech company with the reliability requirements of financial infrastructure. But there’s something unexpected they will experience, too: mission and impact.”
