USA – Mastercard has launched “Mastercard Commerce Media”, a digital media network designed to use permissioned data to deliver smarter, more personalised advertising for advertisers, publishers, and consumers.
The new network builds on Mastercard’s existing base of 25,000 advertisers and 500 million enrolled consumers, operating across both Mastercard-owned channels as well as bank and publishing outlets worldwide.
To strengthen its reach, Mastercard is working with strategic partners including Citi, WPP, American Airlines and Microsoft. Its long-standing relationship with Citi supports scale, while WPP brings additional connections to traditional media buyers. Meanwhile, a collaboration with Microsoft aims to embed Commerce Media into Copilot Studio, supporting real-time commerce experiences whether led by consumers or AI agents.
The network is designed to address gaps in the fast-growing retail media sector, where inconsistent measurement and limited visibility into consumer preferences have raised concerns among advertisers.
Mastercard says Commerce Media’s end-to-end attribution model, supported by its proprietary card-linking technology, allows advertisers to measure conversions and incremental sales across both in-store and online transactions — a capability most retail media networks do not offer.
In practice, advertisers can use the platform to deliver tailored offers such as cashback, discounts or rewards through Mastercard’s proprietary Offers system, which matches content to audiences based on permissioned purchase data. Consumers who opt in can activate offers on their cards and receive attribution once the purchase is completed. Publishers, meanwhile, can generate additional revenue by serving more relevant content and strengthening engagement with their audiences.
Commerce Media also integrates with other Mastercard services, including personalisation through Dynamic Yield and campaign optimisation through Marketing Services. Expansion to new channels such as point of sale and digital wallets is planned, alongside international rollouts and further integrations through 2026.
Retail media is forecast to be one of the fastest-growing advertising sectors, with eMarketer projecting nearly US$100 billion in spending by 2028. Mastercard says its network offers advertisers greater transparency and accountability at a time when budgets are under pressure and performance measurement is becoming increasingly critical.
Craig Vosburg, chief services officer at Mastercard, said, “We understand how to connect advertisers to consumers and consumers to the products, services and experiences they value. Mastercard Commerce Media is a natural extension of the trusted connections we’re known for and the work we already do across our unique suite of services. That means we’re not just well-positioned to bring a full-scale commerce media network to life—we’re best-positioned.”
