BANKING & FINANCE - Sept. 14, 1992
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Mastercard Fights Back With ‘Co-Branded Cards’: Long relegated to second place behind Visa, Mastercard is trying to survive the nasty credit card wars with “co-branded cards.” The cards bear the name of a particular company but are issued by a separate bank. Mastercard’s new strategy is beginning to pay off, as General Motors and General Electric bypassed Visa and unveiled new cards in recent days that bear the red and yellow Mastercard logo. Since November, 1990, MasterCard has approved 86 co-branding schemes, 66 of which were issued through traditional banks, said Stephen Bartell, a Mastercard vice president.