Cover - shares	9 Months Ended
Cover - shares	Sep. 30, 2019	Oct. 24, 2019
Document Type	10-Q
Document Quarterly Report	true
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2019
Document Transition Report	false
Entity File Number	001-32877
Entity Registrant Name	Mastercard Incorporated
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	13-4172551
Entity Address, Address Line One	2000 Purchase Street
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	10577
Entity Address, City or Town	Purchase,
Entity Address, State or Province	NY
City Area Code	914
Local Phone Number	249-2000
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Central Index Key	0001141391
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Class A Common Stock
Title of 12(b) Security	Class A Common Stock
Trading Symbol	MA
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		997,449,179
Class B Common Stock
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		11,414,514
1.100% Notes due 2022
Title of 12(b) Security	1.100% Notes due 2022
Trading Symbol	MA22
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
2.100% Notes due 2027
Title of 12(b) Security	2.100% Notes due 2027
Trading Symbol	MA27
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
2.500% Notes due 2030
Title of 12(b) Security	2.500% Notes due 2030
Trading Symbol	MA30
Security Exchange Name	NYSE

Consolidated Balance Sheet - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 5,101	$ 6,682
Restricted cash for litigation settlement	666	553
Investments	751	1,696
Accounts receivable	2,500	2,276
Settlement due from customers	2,723	2,452
Restricted security deposits held for customers	1,173	1,080
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	1,933	1,432
Total Current Assets	14,847	16,171
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net of accumulated depreciation of $1,020 and $847, respectively	1,492	921
Deferred income taxes	518	570
Goodwill	3,724	2,904
Other intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $1,253 and $1,175, respectively	1,310	991
Other assets	4,090	3,303
Total Assets	25,981	24,860
LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE NON-CONTROLLING INTERESTS AND EQUITY
Accounts payable	505	537
Settlement due to customers	2,158	2,189
Restricted security deposits held for customers	1,173	1,080
Accrued litigation	938	1,591
Accrued expenses	4,985	4,747
Current portion of long-term debt	0	500
Other current liabilities	955	949
Total Current Liabilities	10,714	11,593
Long-term debt	7,735	5,834
Deferred income taxes	97	67
Other liabilities	2,386	1,877
Total Liabilities	20,932	19,371
Commitments and Contingencies
Redeemable Non-controlling Interests	74	71
Stockholders’ Equity
Additional paid-in-capital	4,725	4,580
Class A treasury stock, at cost, 391 and 368 shares, respectively	(31,207)	(25,750)
Retained earnings	32,289	27,283
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	(858)	(718)
Total Stockholders’ Equity	4,949	5,395
Non-controlling interests	26	23
Total Equity	4,975	5,418
Total Liabilities, Redeemable Non-controlling Interests and Equity	25,981	24,860
Class A Common Stock
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock	0	0
Class B Common Stock
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock	$ 0	$ 0

Consolidated Balance Sheet (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	$ 1,020	$ 847
Other intangible assets, accumulated amortization	$ 1,253	$ 1,175
Class A treasury stock, shares	391,000,000	368,000,000
Class A Common Stock
Common stock, par value	$ 0.0001	$ 0.0001
Common stock, authorized	3,000,000,000	3,000,000,000
Common stock, issued	1,390,000,000	1,387,000,000
Common stock, outstanding	999,000,000	1,019,000,000
Class B Common Stock
Common stock, par value	$ 0.0001	$ 0.0001
Common stock, authorized	1,200,000,000	1,200,000,000
Common stock, issued	11,000,000	12,000,000
Common stock, outstanding	11,000,000	12,000,000

Consolidated Statement of Operations - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net Revenue	$ 4,467	$ 3,898	$ 12,469	$ 11,143
Operating Expenses
General and administrative	1,448	1,268	4,184	3,774
Advertising and marketing	227	203	644	604
Depreciation and amortization	137	111	376	346
Provision for litigation	0	29	0	371
Total operating expenses	1,812	1,611	5,204	5,095
Operating income	2,655	2,287	7,265	6,048
Other Income (Expense)
Investment income	26	31	77	79
Gains (losses) on equity investments, net	(100)	0	48	0
Interest expense	(63)	(48)	(160)	(139)
Other income (expense), net	16	(6)	26	1
Total other income (expense)	(121)	(23)	(9)	(59)
Income before income taxes	2,534	2,264	7,256	5,989
Income tax expense	426	365	1,238	1,029
Net Income	$ 2,108	$ 1,899	$ 6,018	$ 4,960
Basic Earnings per Share	$ 2.08	$ 1.83	$ 5.90	$ 4.75
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding	1,013	1,037	1,020	1,044
Diluted Earnings per Share	$ 2.07	$ 1.82	$ 5.87	$ 4.73
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding	1,019	1,043	1,025	1,050

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net Income	$ 2,108	$ 1,899	$ 6,018	$ 4,960
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustments	(193)	(42)	(216)	(233)
Income tax effect	9	4	12	9
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of income tax effect	(184)	(38)	(204)	(224)
Translation adjustments on net investment hedge	72	2	80	70
Income tax effect	(16)	(1)	(18)	(16)
Translation adjustments on net investment hedge, net of income tax effect	56	1	62	54
Defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans	0	0	(1)	(1)
Income tax effect	0	0	0	0
Defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans, net of income tax effect	0	0	(1)	(1)
Investment securities available-for-sale	0	(1)	4	(2)
Income tax effect	0	0	(1)	0
Investment securities available-for-sale, net of income tax effect	0	(1)	3	(2)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(128)	(38)	(140)	(173)
Comprehensive Income	$ 1,980	$ 1,861	$ 5,878	$ 4,787

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity - USD ($) $ in Millions	Total	Common Stock Class A	Common Stock Class B	Additional Paid-In Capital	Class A Treasury Stock	Retained Earnings	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Non- Controlling Interests
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2017	$ 5,497	$ 0	$ 0	$ 4,365	$ (20,764)	$ 22,364	$ (497)	$ 29
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	1,492					1,492
Activity related to non-controlling interests	(1)							(1)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	124						124
Cash dividends declared on Class A and Class B common stock	(262)					(262)
Purchases of treasury stock	(1,383)				(1,383)
Share-based payments	6			2	4
Balance at end of period at Mar. 31, 2018	5,656	0	0	4,367	(22,143)	23,777	(373)	28
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2017	5,497	0	0	4,365	(20,764)	22,364	(497)	29
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	4,960
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	(173)
Balance at end of period at Sep. 30, 2018	5,796	0	0	4,526	(24,807)	26,726	(670)	21
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Adoption of new accounting principle \| Adoption of revenue standard	366					366
Adoption of new accounting principle \| Adoption of intra-entity asset transfers standard	(183)					(183)
Balance at beginning of period at Mar. 31, 2018	5,656	0	0	4,367	(22,143)	23,777	(373)	28
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	1,569					1,569
Activity related to non-controlling interests	(6)							(6)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	(259)						(259)
Cash dividends declared on Class A and Class B common stock	(260)					(260)
Purchases of treasury stock	(1,507)				(1,507)
Share-based payments	86			86	0
Balance at end of period at Jun. 30, 2018	5,279	0	0	4,453	(23,650)	25,086	(632)	22
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	1,899					1,899
Activity related to non-controlling interests	(1)							(1)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	(38)						(38)
Cash dividends declared on Class A and Class B common stock	(259)					(259)
Purchases of treasury stock	(1,158)				(1,158)
Share-based payments	74			73	1
Balance at end of period at Sep. 30, 2018	5,796	0	0	4,526	(24,807)	26,726	(670)	21
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2018	5,418	0	0	4,580	(25,750)	27,283	(718)	23
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	1,862					1,862
Activity related to non-controlling interests	(1)							(1)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	45						45
Cash dividends declared on Class A and Class B common stock	(339)					(339)
Purchases of treasury stock	(1,790)				(1,790)
Share-based payments	(5)			(11)	6
Balance at end of period at Mar. 31, 2019	5,190	0	0	4,569	(27,534)	28,806	(673)	22
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2018	5,418	0	0	4,580	(25,750)	27,283	(718)	23
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	6,018					6,018
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	(140)
Balance at end of period at Sep. 30, 2019	4,975	0	0	4,725	(31,207)	32,289	(858)	26
Balance at beginning of period at Mar. 31, 2019	5,190	0	0	4,569	(27,534)	28,806	(673)	22
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	2,048					2,048
Activity related to non-controlling interests	5							5
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	(57)						(57)
Cash dividends declared on Class A and Class B common stock	(337)					(337)
Purchases of treasury stock	(1,920)				(1,920)
Share-based payments	106			106	0
Balance at end of period at Jun. 30, 2019	5,035	0	0	4,675	(29,454)	30,517	(730)	27
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	2,108					2,108
Activity related to non-controlling interests	(1)							(1)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	(128)						(128)
Cash dividends declared on Class A and Class B common stock	(336)					(336)
Purchases of treasury stock	(1,755)				(1,755)
Share-based payments	52			50	2
Balance at end of period at Sep. 30, 2019	$ 4,975	$ 0	$ 0	$ 4,725	$ (31,207)	$ 32,289	$ (858)	$ 26

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	3 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018
Common Stock
Cash dividends declared on Class A and Class B common stock (USD per share)	$ 0.33	$ 0.33	$ 0.33	$ 0.25	$ 0.25	$ 0.25

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Operating Activities
Net income	$ 6,018	$ 4,960
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization of customer and merchant incentives	878	885
Depreciation and amortization	376	346
(Gains) losses on equity investments, net	(48)	0
Share-based compensation	207	153
Deferred income taxes	14	(209)
Other	21	11
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(278)	(317)
Settlement due from customers	(171)	39
Prepaid expenses	(1,440)	(1,174)
Accrued litigation and legal settlements	(637)	202
Restricted security deposits held for customers	93	(51)
Accounts payable	(36)	(44)
Settlement due to customers	(77)	(186)
Accrued expenses	266	461
Net change in other assets and liabilities	17	(185)
Net cash provided by operating activities	5,203	4,891
Investing Activities
Purchases of investment securities available-for-sale	(549)	(953)
Purchases of investments held-to-maturity	(167)	(400)
Proceeds from sales of investment securities available-for-sale	1,003	491
Proceeds from maturities of investment securities available-for-sale	305	291
Proceeds from maturities of investments held-to-maturity	334	762
Purchases of property and equipment	(306)	(255)
Capitalized software	(237)	(126)
Purchases of equity investments	(391)	(32)
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	(1,170)	0
Other investing activities	(2)	(15)
Net cash used in investing activities	(1,180)	(237)
Financing Activities
Purchases of treasury stock	(5,503)	(4,045)
Dividends paid	(1,012)	(785)
Proceeds from debt	1,980	991
Payment of debt	(500)	0
Contingent consideration paid	(199)	0
Tax withholdings related to share-based payments	(161)	(79)
Cash proceeds from exercise of stock options	107	92
Other financing activities	3	(7)
Net cash used in financing activities	(5,285)	(3,833)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents	(103)	65
Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents	(1,365)	886
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents - beginning of period	8,337	7,592
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents - end of period	$ 6,972	$ 8,478

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Organization

Mastercard Incorporated and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Mastercard International Incorporated (“Mastercard International” and together with Mastercard Incorporated, “Mastercard” or the “Company”), is a technology company in the global payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, digital partners, businesses and other organizations worldwide, enabling them to use electronic forms of payment instead of cash and checks.

Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Mastercard and its majority-owned and controlled entities, including any variable interest entities (“VIEs”) for which the Company is the primary beneficiary. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, there were no significant VIEs which required consolidation. The Company consolidates acquisitions as of the date in which the Company has obtained a controlling financial interest. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2019 presentation. The Company follows accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

The balance sheet as of December 31, 2018 was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2018. The consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 and as of September 30, 2019 are unaudited, and in the opinion of management, include all normal recurring adjustments that are necessary to present fairly the results for interim periods. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) requirements for Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Reference should be made to the Mastercard Incorporated Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 for additional disclosures, including a summary of the Company’s significant accounting policies.

Non-controlling interest amounts are included in the consolidated statement of operations within other income (expense). For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, activity from non-controlling interests was not material to the respective period results.

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

Comprehensive income - In February 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued accounting guidance that allows for a one-time reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from U.S. tax reform. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2019, electing to retain the stranded tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). The adoption did not result in a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Leases - In February 2016, the FASB issued accounting guidance that changed how companies account for and present lease arrangements. This guidance requires companies to recognize lease assets and liabilities for both financing and operating leases on the consolidated balance sheet. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2019, under the modified retrospective transition method with the available practical expedients.

The following table summarizes the impact of the changes made to the January 1, 2019 consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of the new accounting standard pertaining to leases. The prior periods have not been restated and have been reported under the accounting standard in effect for those periods.



	Balance at December 31, 2018		Impact of lease standard		Balance at January 1, 2019
	(in millions)
Assets
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	$	921	$	375	$	1,296
Liabilities
Other current liabilities	949		72		1,021
Other liabilities	1,877		303		2,180

For a more detailed discussion on lease arrangements, refer to Note 8 (Property, Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets).

Recent accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

Implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract - In August 2018, the FASB issued accounting guidance which aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. This guidance is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Companies are required to adopt this guidance either retrospectively or by prospectively applying the guidance to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. The Company expects to adopt this guidance effective January 1, 2020 by applying the prospective approach as of the date of adoption and is in the process of evaluating the potential effects this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements and, at this time, does not expect the impacts to be material.

Disclosure requirements for fair value measurement - In August 2018, the FASB issued accounting guidance which modifies disclosure requirements for fair value measurements by removing, modifying and adding certain disclosures. This guidance is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Companies are required to adopt the guidance for certain added disclosures prospectively for only the most recent interim or annual period presented in the initial fiscal year of adoption and all other amendments retrospectively to all periods presented upon their effective date. The Company expects to adopt this guidance effective January 1, 2020 and does not expect the impacts to be material.

Acquisitions

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Business Combination Disclosure

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company acquired several businesses in separate transactions for total consideration of $1.2 billion, primarily in cash. These acquisitions align with the Company’s strategy to grow, diversify and build the Company’s business. Refer to Note 1 (Summary of Significant Accounting Policies) to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, for the valuation techniques Mastercard utilizes to fair value the respective components of business combinations. The residual value allocated to goodwill is primarily attributable to the synergies expected to arise after the acquisition date and is not expected to be deductible for local tax purposes.

The Company is evaluating and finalizing the purchase accounting. The preliminary estimated fair values of the purchase price allocations in aggregate, as of the acquisition dates, are noted below:



	(in millions)
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	48
Other current assets	148
Other intangible assets	303
Goodwill	881
Other assets	32
Total assets	1,412

Liabilities:
Other current liabilities	106
Deferred income taxes	52
Other liabilities	29
Total liabilities	187

Net assets acquired	$	1,225

The following table summarizes the identified intangible assets acquired:



	Acquisition Date Fair Value		Weighted-Average Useful Life
	(in millions)		(in years)
Developed technologies	$	160	7.6
Customer relationships	134		12.7
Other	9		2.0
Other intangible assets	$	303	9.7

Pro forma information related to the acquisitions was not included because the impact on the Company’s consolidated results of operations was not considered to be material.

In August 2019, Mastercard entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the majority of the Corporate Services business of Nets Denmark A/S, for €2.85 billion (approximately $3.12 billion as of September 30, 2019) after adjusting for cash and certain other liabilities at closing. The pending acquisition primarily comprises the clearing and instant payment services, and e-billing solutions of Nets Denmark A/S’s Corporate Services business. While the Company anticipates completing the acquisition in the first half of 2020, the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. Separately, in October 2019, the Company entered into commitments to acquire additional businesses for total consideration of approximately $290 million in cash, all of which are expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2019. The Company will begin consolidating these acquisitions as of the date acquired.

Revenue

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Revenue

The Company’s disaggregated net revenue by source and geographic region were as follows:



	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2019			2018			2019			2018
	(in millions)
Revenue by source:
Domestic assessments	$	1,722		$	1,564		$	5,007		$	4,559
Cross-border volume fees	1,517			1,338			4,154			3,693
Transaction processing	2,231			1,912			6,206			5,449
Other revenues	1,087			819			2,891			2,352
Gross revenue	6,557			5,633			18,258			16,053
Rebates and incentives (contra-revenue)	(2,090		)	(1,735		)	(5,789		)	(4,910		)
Net revenue	$	4,467		$	3,898		$	12,469		$	11,143

Net revenue by geographic region:
North American Markets	$	1,545		$	1,360		$	4,333		$	3,941
International Markets	2,877			2,505			8,013			7,095
Other ¹	45			33			123			107
Net revenue	$	4,467		$	3,898		$	12,469		$	11,143

¹Includes revenues managed by corporate functions.

Receivables from contracts with customers of $2.3 billion and $2.1 billion as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, are recorded within accounts receivable on the consolidated balance sheet. The Company’s customers are billed quarterly or more frequently dependent upon the nature of the performance obligation and the underlying contractual terms. The Company does not typically offer extended payment terms to customers.

Contract assets are included in prepaid expenses and other current assets and other assets on the consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2019 in the amounts of $51 million and $109 million, respectively. The comparable amounts included in prepaid expenses and other current assets and other assets at December 31, 2018 were $40 million and $92 million, respectively.

Deferred revenue is included in other current liabilities and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2019 in the amounts of $281 million and $108 million, respectively. The comparable amounts included in other current liabilities and other liabilities at December 31, 2018 were $218 million and $101 million, respectively. Revenue recognized from performance obligations satisfied during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 was $246 million and $613 million and $202 million and $570 million, respectively.

Earnings Per Share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Earnings Per Share

The components of basic and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) for common shares were as follows:



	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
	(in millions, except per share data)
Numerator
Net income	$	2,108	$	1,899	$	6,018	$	4,960
Denominator
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding	1,013		1,037		1,020		1,044
Dilutive stock options and stock units	6		6		5		6
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding¹	1,019		1,043		1,025		1,050
Earnings per Share
Basic	$	2.08	$	1.83	$	5.90	$	4.75
Diluted	$	2.07	$	1.82	$	5.87	$	4.73

¹ For the periods presented, the calculation of diluted EPS excluded a minimal amount of anti-dilutive share-based payment awards.

Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Cash and Cash Equivalents [Abstract]

Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents reported on the consolidated balance sheet that total to the amounts shown on the consolidated statement of cash flows.



	December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	6,682	$	5,933
Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents
Restricted cash for litigation settlement	553		546
Restricted security deposits held for customers	1,080		1,085
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	22		28
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents - beginning of period	$	8,337	$	7,592

	September 30,
	2019		2018
	(in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	5,101	$	6,871
Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents
Restricted cash for litigation settlement	666		550
Restricted security deposits held for customers	1,173		1,034
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	32		23
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents - end of period	$	6,972	$	8,478

Fair Value and Investment Securities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value and Investment Securities

Financial Instruments – Recurring Measurements

The Company classifies its fair value measurements of financial instruments into a three-level hierarchy (the “Valuation Hierarchy”). There were no transfers made among the three levels in the Valuation Hierarchy during the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

The distribution of the Company’s financial instruments measured at fair value on a recurring basis within the Valuation Hierarchy were as follows:



	September 30, 2019											December 31, 2018
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)			Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total			Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)			Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
	(in millions)
Assets
Investment securities available for sale ¹:
Municipal securities	$	—		$	8		$	—	$	8		$	—		$	15		$	—	$	15
Government and agency securities	96			52			—		148			65			92			—		157
Corporate securities	—			411			—		411			—			1,043			—		1,043
Asset-backed securities	—			92			—		92			—			217			—		217
Derivative instruments ²:
Foreign currency derivative assets	—			30			—		30			—			35			—		35
Marketable equity investments ³:
Equity securities	369			—			—		369			—			—			—		—
Deferred compensation plan ⁴:
Deferred compensation assets	65			—			—		65			54			—			—		54

Liabilities
Derivative instruments ²:
Foreign currency derivative liabilities	$	—		$	(21	)	$	—	$	(21	)	$	—		$	(6	)	$	—	$	(6	)
Deferred compensation plan ⁵:
Deferred compensation liabilities	(66		)	—			—		(66		)	(54		)	—			—		(54		)

¹The Company’s U.S. government securities are classified within Level 1 of the Valuation Hierarchy as the fair values are based on unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets in active markets. The fair value of the Company’s available-for-sale municipal securities, government and agency securities, corporate securities and asset-backed securities are based on observable inputs such as quoted prices, benchmark yields and issuer spreads for similar assets in active markets and are therefore included in Level 2 of the Valuation Hierarchy.

² The Company’s foreign currency derivative asset and liability contracts have been classified within Level 2 of the Valuation Hierarchy as the fair value is based on observable inputs such as broker quotes relating to foreign currency exchange rates for similar derivative instruments. See Note 17 (Foreign Exchange Risk Management) for further details.

³ The Company’s marketable equity securities are publicly held and classified within Level 1 of the Valuation Hierarchy as the fair values are based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.

⁴ The Company has a nonqualified deferred compensation plan where assets are invested primarily in mutual funds held in a rabbi trust, which is restricted for payments to participants of the plan. The Company has elected to use the fair value option for these mutual funds, which are measured using quoted prices of identical instruments in active markets and are included in prepaid expenses and other current assets on the consolidated balance sheet.

⁵ The deferred compensation liabilities are measured at fair value based on the quoted prices of identical instruments to the investment vehicles selected by the participants. These are included in other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet.

Marketable Equity Investments

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company invested $348 million in certain marketable equity securities. Marketable equity securities have readily determinable fair values with changes in fair value recorded in gain (losses) on equity investments, net on the consolidated statement of operations. At September 30, 2019, the fair value of these securities were $369 million and are included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet.

Settlement and Other Guarantee Liabilities

The Company estimates the fair value of its settlement and other guarantees using market assumptions for relevant though not directly comparable undertakings, as the latter are not observable in the market given the proprietary nature of such guarantees. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the carrying value and fair value of settlement and other guarantee liabilities were not material and accordingly are not included in the Valuation Hierarchy table above. Settlement and other guarantee liabilities are classified within Level 3 of the Valuation Hierarchy as their valuation requires assumptions and estimation of factors that are not observable in the market. See Note 16 (Settlement and Other Risk Management) for additional information regarding the Company’s settlement and other guarantee liabilities.

Financial Instruments - Non-Recurring Measurements

Held-to-Maturity Securities

Investments on the consolidated balance sheet include both available-for-sale and short-term held-to-maturity securities. Held-to-maturity securities are not measured at fair value on a recurring basis and are not included in the Valuation Hierarchy table above. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company held $92 million and $264 million, respectively, of held-to-maturity securities due within one year. The cost of these securities approximates fair value.

Nonmarketable Equity Investments

The Company’s nonmarketable equity investments are accounted for under the equity method or measurement alternative method. The Company’s share of net earnings or losses of equity method investments is included in other income (expense), net on the consolidated statement of operations. Measurement alternative investments do not have readily determinable fair values, and therefore are measured at cost, less any impairment and adjusted for changes resulting from identifiable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or similar investments of the same issuer. Fair value adjustments of measurement alternative investments are included in gain (losses) of equity investments, net on the consolidated statement of operations. Nonmarketable equity investments are classified within Level 3 of the Valuation Hierarchy due to the absence of quoted market prices, the inherent lack of liquidity and unobservable inputs used to measure fair value that require management’s judgment. The Company uses discounted cash flows and market assumptions to estimate the fair value of its nonmarketable equity investments when certain events or circumstances indicate that impairment may exist.

At September 30, 2019, the total carrying value of nonmarketable equity investments was $388 million, including $272 million of measurement alternative investments and $116 million of equity method investments. At December 31, 2018, the total carrying value of nonmarketable equity investments was $337 million, including $232 million measurement alternative investments and $105 million of equity method investments. Nonmarketable equity investments are included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet.

Debt

The Company estimates the fair value of its long-term debt based on market quotes. These debt instruments are not traded in active markets and are classified as Level 2 of the Valuation Hierarchy. At September 30, 2019, the carrying value and fair value of total long-term debt outstanding was $7.7 billion and $8.5 billion, respectively. At December 31, 2018, the carrying value and fair value of total long-term debt outstanding (including the current portion) was $6.3 billion and $6.5 billion, respectively.

Other Financial Instruments

Certain financial instruments are carried on the consolidated balance sheet at cost, which approximates fair value due to their short-term, highly liquid nature. These instruments include cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, settlement due from customers, restricted security deposits held for customers, accounts payable, settlement due to customers and other accrued liabilities.

Gains (Losses) on Equity Investments

Gains (losses) on equity investments consists of realized and unrealized gains or losses on marketable equity investments and fair value adjustments, including impairments, of nonmarketable equity investments. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company recorded net losses of $100 million and net gains $48 million, respectively, primarily related to unrealized fair market value adjustments on our marketable equity securities.

Contingent Consideration

The contingent consideration attributable to acquisitions made in 2017 was primarily based on the achievement of 2018 revenue targets and was measured at fair value on a recurring basis. This contingent consideration liability of $219 million was included in other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2018. This liability was classified within Level 3 of the Valuation Hierarchy due to the absence of quoted market prices and unobservable inputs used to measure fair value that require management’s judgment. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company paid $219 million to settle the contingent consideration.

Amortized Costs and Fair Values – Available-for-Sale Investment Securities

The major classes of the Company’s available-for-sale investment securities, for which unrealized gains and losses are recorded as a separate component of other comprehensive income (loss) on the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, and their respective amortized cost basis and fair values as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were as follows:



	September 30, 2019								December 31, 2018
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gain		Gross Unrealized Loss		Fair Value		Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gain		Gross Unrealized Loss			Fair Value
	(in millions)
Municipal securities	$	8	$	—	$	—	$	8	$	15	$	—	$	—		$	15
Government and agency securities	148		—		—		148		157		—		—			157
Corporate securities	410		1		—		411		1,044		1		(2		)	1,043
Asset-backed securities	91		1		—		92		217		—		—			217
Total	$	657	$	2	$	—	$	659	$	1,433	$	1	$	(2	)	$	1,432

The Company’s available-for-sale investment securities held at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 primarily carried a credit rating of A- or better. The municipal securities are comprised of state tax-exempt bonds and are diversified across states and sectors. Government and agency securities include U.S. government bonds, U.S. government sponsored agency bonds and foreign government bonds with similar credit quality to that of the U.S. government bonds. Corporate securities are comprised of commercial paper and corporate bonds. The asset-backed securities are investments in bonds which are collateralized primarily by automobile loan receivables.

Investment Maturities

The maturity distribution based on the contractual terms of the Company’s investment securities at September 30, 2019 was as follows:



	Available-For-Sale
	Amortized Cost		Fair Value
	(in millions)
Due within 1 year	$	222	$	222
Due after 1 year through 5 years	435		437
Total	$	657	$	659

Investment Income

Investment income primarily consists of interest income generated from cash, cash equivalents and debt securities. Gross realized gains and losses are recorded within investment income on the consolidated statement of operations. The gross realized gains and losses from the sales of available-for-sale securities for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were not significant.

Prepaid Expenses and Other Assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Prepaid Expense and Other Assets [Abstract]

Prepaid Expenses and Other Assets

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consisted of the following:



	September 30, 2019		December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Customer and merchant incentives	$	885	$	778
Prepaid income taxes	192		51
Other	856		603
Total prepaid expenses and other current assets	$	1,933	$	1,432

Other assets consisted of the following:



	September 30, 2019		December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Customer and merchant incentives	$	2,650	$	2,458
Equity investments	757		337
Income taxes receivable	430		298
Other	253		210
Total other assets	$	4,090	$	3,303

Customer and merchant incentives represent payments made to customers and merchants under business agreements. Costs directly related to entering into such an agreement are generally deferred and amortized over the life of the agreement.

Equity investments represent the Company’s marketable equity securities and nonmarketable equity investments. See Note 6 (Fair Value and Investment Securities) for further details on the Company’s investments in certain marketable equity securities made during the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

Property, Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets

Property, equipment and right-of-use assets consisted of the following:



	September 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Building, building equipment and land	$	492		$	481
Equipment	1,155			987
Furniture and fixtures	87			85
Leasehold improvements	265			215
Operating lease right-of-use assets	513			—
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets	2,512			1,768
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(1,020		)	(847		)
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	$	1,492		$	921

The increase in property, equipment and right-of-use assets at September 30, 2019 from December 31, 2018 was primarily due to the impact from the adoption of the new accounting standard pertaining to lease arrangements. See Note 1 (Summary of Significant Accounting Policies) for additional information on the impact of the adoption of this standard.

The Company determines if a contract is, or contains, a lease at contract inception. The Company’s right-of-use (“ROU”) assets are primarily related to operating leases for office space, automobiles and other equipment. Leases are included in property, equipment and right-of-use assets, other current liabilities and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet.

ROU assets represent the right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. In addition, ROU assets include initial direct costs incurred by the lessee as well as any lease payments made at or before the commencement date, and exclude lease incentives. As most of the Company's leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. Lease terms include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Leases with a term of one year or less are excluded from ROU assets and liabilities.

The Company excludes variable lease payments in measuring ROU assets and lease liabilities, other than those that depend on an index, a rate or are in substance fixed payments. Lease and nonlease components are generally accounted for separately. When available, consideration is allocated to the separate lease and nonlease components in a lease contract on a relative standalone price basis using observable standalone prices.

Operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are recorded on the consolidated balance sheet as follows:



	September 30, 2019
	(in millions)
Balance sheet location
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	$	444
Other current liabilities	98
Other liabilities	386

Operating lease amortization expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 was $26 million and $69 million, respectively, and recorded within general and administrative expenses on the consolidated statement of operations. As of September 30, 2019, weighted-average remaining lease term of operating leases was 6.3 years and weighted-average discount rate for operating leases was 3.2%.

The following table summarizes the maturity of the Company’s operating lease liabilities at September 30, 2019 based on lease term:



	Operating Leases
	(in millions)
Remainder of 2019	$	26
2020	99
2021	82
2022	76
2023	67
Thereafter	174
Total operating lease payments	524
Less: Interest	(40		)
Present value of operating lease liabilities	$	484

As of September 30, 2019, the Company has entered into additional operating leases as a lessee, primarily for real estate. These leases have not yet commenced and will result in ROU assets and corresponding lease liabilities of approximately $285 million. These operating leases are expected to commence between fiscal years 2019 and 2020, with lease terms between one and sixteen years.

The following disclosures relate to periods prior to adoption of the new lease accounting standard, including those operating leases entered into during 2018, but not yet commenced:

At December 31, 2018, the Company had the following future minimum payments due under non‐cancelable leases:



	Operating Leases
	(in millions)
2019	$	72
2020	75
2021	76
2022	68
2023	58
Thereafter	327
Total	$	676

Consolidated rental expense for the Company’s leased office space was $94 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. Consolidated lease expense for automobiles, computer equipment and office equipment was $20 million for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Accrued Expenses

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accrued Liabilities, Current [Abstract]

Accrued Expenses and Accrued Litigation

Accrued expenses consisted of the following:



	September 30, 2019		December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Customer and merchant incentives	$	3,480	$	3,275
Personnel costs	576		744
Income and other taxes	462		158
Other	467		570
Total accrued expenses	$	4,985	$	4,747

Customer and merchant incentives represent amounts to be paid to customers under business agreements. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company’s provision for litigation was $938 million and $1,591 million, respectively. These amounts are not included in the accrued expenses table above and are separately reported as accrued litigation on the

consolidated balance sheet. See Note 15 (Legal and Regulatory Proceedings) for additional information regarding the Company’s accrued litigation.

Debt (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Debt [Abstract]

Debt

Long-term debt consisted of the following at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:



Notes	Issuance Date	Interest Payment Terms	Maturity Date	Aggregate Principal Amount		Stated Interest Rate		Effective Interest Rate		September 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
				(in millions, except percentages)
2019 USD Notes	May 2019	Semi-annually	2029	$	1,000	2.950	%	3.030	%	$	1,000		$	—
			2049	1,000		3.650	%	3.689	%	1,000			—
				$	2,000

2018 USD Notes	February 2018	Semi-annually	2028	$	500	3.500	%	3.598	%	500			500
			2048	500		3.950	%	3.990	%	500			500
				$	1,000

2016 USD Notes	November 2016	Semi-annually	2021	$	650	2.000	%	2.236	%	650			650
			2026	750		2.950	%	3.044	%	750			750
			2046	600		3.800	%	3.893	%	600			600
				$	2,000

2015 Euro Notes	December 2015	Annually	2022	€	700	1.100	%	1.265	%	765			801
			2027	800		2.100	%	2.189	%	875			916
			2030	150		2.500	%	2.562	%	164			172
				€	1,650

2014 USD Notes	March 2014	Semi-annually	2019	$	500	2.000	%	2.178	%	—			500
			2024	1,000		3.375	%	3.484	%	1,000			1,000
				$	1,500
										7,804			6,389
Less: Unamortized discount and debt issuance costs										(69		)	(55		)
Total debt outstanding										7,735			6,334
Less: Current portion¹										—			(500		)
Long-term debt										$	7,735		$	5,834

¹Relates to the 2014 USD Notes, which was classified in current liabilities as of December 31, 2018, matured and was paid during the second quarter of 2019

In May 2019, the Company issued $1.0 billion principal amount of notes due June 2029 and $1.0 billion principal amount of notes due June 2049 (collectively the “2019 USD Notes”). The net proceeds from the issuance of the 2019 USD Notes, after deducting the original issue discount, underwriting discount and offering expenses, were $1.980 billion.

The net proceeds, after deducting the original issue discount, underwriting discount and offering expenses, from the issuance of the 2018 USD Notes, 2016 USD Notes, the 2015 Euro Notes and the 2014 USD Notes, were $991 million, $1.969 billion, $1.723 billion and $1.484 billion, respectively.

The outstanding debt, described above, is not subject to any financial covenants and it may be redeemed in whole, or in part, at the Company’s option at any time for a specified make-whole amount. These notes are senior unsecured obligations and would rank equally with any future unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness. The proceeds of the notes are to be used for general corporate purposes.

Stockholders' Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Equity [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity

The Company’s Board of Directors have approved share repurchase programs authorizing the Company to repurchase shares of its Class A Common Stock. These programs become effective after the completion of the previously authorized share repurchase program.

The following table summarizes the Company’s share repurchase authorizations of its Class A common stock through September 30, 2019, as well as historical purchases:




Board authorization dates	December 2018		December 2017		December 2016

Date program became effective	January 2019		March 2018		April 2017		Total
	(in millions, except average price data)
Board authorization	$	6,500	$	4,000	$	4,000	$	14,500
Dollar value of shares repurchased during the nine months ended September 30, 2018	$	—	$	2,811	$	1,234	$	4,045
Remaining authorization at December 31, 2018	$	6,500	$	301	$	—	$	6,801
Dollar value of shares repurchased during the nine months ended September 30, 2019	$	5,202	$	301	$	—	$	5,503
Remaining authorization at September 30, 2019	$	1,298	$	—	$	—	$	1,298

Shares repurchased during the nine months ended September 30, 2018	—		14.6		7.2		21.8
Average price paid per share during the nine months ended September 30, 2018	$	—	$	192.82	$	171.11	$	185.64
Shares repurchased during the nine months ended September 30, 2019	21.2		1.6		—		22.8
Average price paid per share during the nine months ended September 30, 2019	$	245.25	$	188.38	$	—	$	241.27
Cumulative shares repurchased through September 30, 2019	21.2		20.6		28.2		70.0
Cumulative average price paid per share	$	245.25	$	194.27	$	141.99	$	188.68

The following table presents the changes in the Company’s outstanding Class A and Class B common stock for the nine months ended September 30, 2019:



	Outstanding Shares
	Class A		Class B
	(in millions)
Balance at December 31, 2018	1,018.6		11.8
Purchases of treasury stock	(22.8	)	—
Share-based payments	2.8		—
Conversion of Class B to Class A common stock	0.3		(0.3	)
Balance at September 30, 2019	998.9		11.5

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax [Abstract]

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The changes in the balances of each component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:



	Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments ¹			Translation Adjustments on Net Investment Hedge			Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans			Investment Securities Available-for-Sale			Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
	(in millions)
Balance at December 31, 2018	$	(661	)	$	(66	)	$	10		$	(1	)	$	(718	)
Other comprehensive income (loss) for the period ²	(204		)	62			(1		)	3			(140		)
Balance at September 30, 2019	$	(865	)	$	(4	)	$	9		$	2		$	(858	)

Balance at December 31, 2017	$	(382	)	$	(141	)	$	25		$	1		$	(497	)
Other comprehensive income (loss) for the period ²	(224		)	54			(1		)	(2		)	(173		)
Balance at September 30, 2018	$	(606	)	$	(87	)	$	24		$	(1	)	$	(670	)

¹During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the increases in other comprehensive loss related to foreign currency translation adjustments were driven primarily by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Brazilian real, British pound and euro.

²During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, gains and losses reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to the consolidated statement of operations were not significant.

Share-Based Payments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Share-based Payment Arrangement, Additional Disclosure [Abstract]

Share-Based Payments

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company granted the following awards under the Mastercard Incorporated 2006 Long Term Incentive Plan, as amended and restated as of June 5, 2012 (the “LTIP”). The LTIP is a stockholder-approved plan that permits the grant of various types of equity awards to employees.



	Grants in 2019	Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
	(in millions)	(per option/unit)
Non-qualified stock options	0.9	$53
Restricted stock units	0.9	$225
Performance stock units	0.1	$231

Stock options generally vest in four equal annual installments beginning one year after the date of grant and expire ten years from the date of grant. The Company used the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the grant-date fair value of stock options and calculated the expected life and the expected volatility based on historical Mastercard information. The expected life of stock options granted in 2019 was estimated to be six years, while the expected volatility was determined to be 19.6%.

Vesting of the shares underlying the restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and performance stock units (“PSUs”) will generally occur three years after the date of grant. For all PSUs granted on or after March 1, 2019, shares issuable upon vesting are subject to a mandatory one-year deferral period, during which vested PSUs are eligible for dividend equivalents. The fair value of RSUs is determined and fixed on the grant date based on the Company’s Class A common stock price, adjusted for the exclusion of dividend equivalents. The Monte Carlo simulation valuation model was used to determine the grant-date fair value of PSUs granted.

Compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures over the shorter of the vesting period or the date the individual becomes eligible to retire under the LTIP. The Company uses the straight-line method of attribution over the requisite service period for expensing equity awards.

Income Taxes	9 Months Ended
Income Taxes	Sep. 30, 2019
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income Taxes	The effective income tax rates were 16.9% and 17.1% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, versus 16.1% and 17.2% for the comparable periods in 2018. The higher effective tax rate for the three months, versus the comparable period in 2018, was primarily due to discrete deferred tax benefits recorded in 2018, primarily related to provisions for legal matters in the United States, partially offset by a tax benefit related to a favorable court ruling in the current period. The lower effective tax rate for the nine months, versus the comparable period in 2018, was primarily due to a tax benefit related to a favorable court ruling in 2019 and a more favorable geographic mix of earnings. These benefits were partially offset by the discrete deferred tax benefits recorded in 2018 previously mentioned. The Company is subject to tax in the United States, Belgium, Singapore, the United Kingdom and various other foreign jurisdictions, as well as state and local jurisdictions. Uncertain tax positions are reviewed on an ongoing basis and are adjusted after considering facts and circumstances, including progress of tax audits, developments in case law and closing of statutes of limitation. Within the next twelve months, the Company believes that the resolution of certain federal, foreign and state and local examinations is reasonably possible and that a change in estimate, reducing unrecognized tax benefits, may occur. While such a change may be significant, it is not possible to provide a range of the potential change until the examinations progress further or the related statutes of limitation expire. The Company has effectively settled its U.S. federal income tax obligations through 2011. With limited exception, the Company is no longer subject to state and local or foreign examinations by tax authorities for years before 2010.

Legal and Regulatory Proceedings	9 Months Ended
Legal and Regulatory Proceedings	Sep. 30, 2019
Legal and Regulatory Proceedings [Abstract]
Legal and Regulatory Proceedings	Mastercard is a party to legal and regulatory proceedings with respect to a variety of matters in the ordinary course of business. Some of these proceedings are based on complex claims involving substantial uncertainties and unascertainable damages. Accordingly, except as discussed below, it is not possible to determine the probability of loss or estimate damages, and therefore, Mastercard has not established reserves for any of these proceedings. When the Company determines that a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable, Mastercard records a liability and discloses the amount of the liability if it is material. When a material loss contingency is only reasonably possible, Mastercard does not record a liability, but instead discloses the nature and the amount of the claim, and an estimate of the loss or range of loss, if such an estimate can be made. Unless otherwise stated below with respect to these matters, Mastercard cannot provide an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss based on one or more of the following reasons: (1) actual or potential plaintiffs have not claimed an amount of monetary damages or the amounts are unsupportable or exaggerated, (2) the matters are in early stages, (3) there is uncertainty as to the outcome of pending appeals or motions, (4) there are significant factual issues to be resolved, (5) the existence in many such proceedings of multiple defendants or potential defendants whose share of any potential financial responsibility has yet to be determined and/or (6) there are novel legal issues presented. Furthermore, except as identified with respect to the matters below, Mastercard does not believe that the outcome of any individual existing legal or regulatory proceeding to which it is a party will have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, financial condition or overall business. However, an adverse judgment or other outcome or settlement with respect to any proceedings discussed below could result in fines or payments by Mastercard and/or could require Mastercard to change its business practices. In addition, an adverse outcome in a regulatory proceeding could lead to the filing of civil damage claims and possibly result in significant damage awards. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on Mastercard’s results of operations, financial condition and overall business. Interchange Litigation and Regulatory Proceedings Mastercard’s interchange fees and other practices are subject to regulatory, legal review and/or challenges in a number of jurisdictions, including the proceedings described below. When taken as a whole, the resulting decisions, regulations and legislation with respect to interchange fees and acceptance practices may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s prospects for future growth and its overall results of operations, financial position and cash flows. United States. In June 2005, the first of a series of complaints were filed on behalf of merchants (the majority of the complaints were styled as class actions, although a few complaints were filed on behalf of individual merchant plaintiffs) against Mastercard International, Visa U.S.A., Inc., Visa International Service Association and a number of financial institutions. Taken together, the claims in the complaints were generally brought under both Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, which prohibit monopolization and attempts or conspiracies to monopolize a particular industry, and some of these complaints contain unfair competition law claims under state law. The complaints allege, among other things, that Mastercard, Visa, and certain financial institutions conspired to set the price of interchange fees, enacted point of sale acceptance rules (including the no surcharge rule) in violation of antitrust laws and engaged in unlawful tying and bundling of certain products and services. The cases were consolidated for pre-trial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in MDL No. 1720. The plaintiffs filed a consolidated class action complaint that seeks treble damages. In July 2006, the group of purported merchant class plaintiffs filed a supplemental complaint alleging that Mastercard’s initial public offering of its Class A Common Stock in May 2006 (the “IPO”) and certain purported agreements entered into between Mastercard and financial institutions in connection with the IPO: (1) violate U.S. antitrust laws and (2) constituted a fraudulent conveyance because the financial institutions allegedly attempted to release, without adequate consideration, Mastercard’s right to assess them for Mastercard’s litigation liabilities. The class plaintiffs sought treble damages and injunctive relief including, but not limited to, an order reversing and unwinding the IPO. In February 2011, Mastercard and Mastercard International entered into each of: (1) an omnibus judgment sharing and settlement sharing agreement with Visa Inc., Visa U.S.A. Inc. and Visa International Service Association and a number of financial institutions; and (2) a Mastercard settlement and judgment sharing agreement with a number of financial institutions. The agreements provide for the apportionment of certain costs and liabilities which Mastercard, the Visa parties and the financial institutions may incur, jointly and/or severally, in the event of an adverse judgment or settlement of one or all of the cases in the merchant litigations. Among a number of scenarios addressed by the agreements, in the event of a global settlement involving the Visa parties, the financial institutions and Mastercard, Mastercard would pay 12% of the monetary portion of the settlement. In the event of a settlement involving only Mastercard and the financial institutions with respect to their issuance of Mastercard cards, Mastercard would pay 36% of the monetary portion of such settlement. In October 2012, the parties entered into a definitive settlement agreement with respect to the merchant class litigation (including with respect to the claims related to the IPO) and the defendants separately entered into a settlement agreement with the individual merchant plaintiffs. The settlements included cash payments that were apportioned among the defendants pursuant to the omnibus judgment sharing and settlement sharing agreement described above. Mastercard also agreed to provide class members with a short-term reduction in default credit interchange rates and to modify certain of its business practices, including its “no surcharge” rule. The court granted final approval of the settlement in December 2013, and objectors to the settlement appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In June 2016, the court of appeals vacated the class action certification, reversed the settlement approval and sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings. The court of appeals’ ruling was based primarily on whether the merchants were adequately represented by counsel in the settlement. As a result of the appellate court ruling, the district court divided the merchants’ claims into two separate classes - monetary damages claims (the “Damages Class”) and claims seeking changes to business practices (the “Rules Relief Class”). The court appointed separate counsel for each class. In September 2018, the parties to the Damages Class litigation entered into a class settlement agreement to resolve the Damages Class claims. Mastercard increased its reserve by $237 million during 2018 to reflect both its expected financial obligation under the Damages Class settlement agreement and the filed and anticipated opt-out merchant cases. In January 2019, the district court issued an order granting preliminary approval of the settlement and authorized notice of the settlement to class members. The time period during which Damages Class members were permitted to opt out of the class settlement agreement ended in July 2019. Merchants representing slightly more than 25% of the Damages Class interchange volume chose to opt out of the settlement. The district court has scheduled a final approval hearing in November 2019. Mastercard has commenced settlement negotiations with a number of the opt-out merchants and has reached settlements and/or agreements in principle to settle a number of these claims. The Damages Class settlement agreement does not relate to the Rules Relief Class claims. Separate settlement negotiations with the Rules Relief Class are ongoing. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, Mastercard had accrued a liability of $920 million and $915 million, respectively, as a reserve for both the Damages Class litigation and the filed and anticipated opt-out merchant cases. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, Mastercard had $666 million and $553 million, respectively, in a qualified cash settlement fund related to the Damages Class litigation and classified as restricted cash on its consolidated balance sheet. During the first quarter of 2019, Mastercard increased its qualified cash settlement fund by $108 million in accordance with the January 2019 preliminary approval of the settlement. The reserve as of September 30, 2019 for both the Damages Class litigation and the filed opt-out merchants represents Mastercard’s best estimate of its probable liabilities in these matters. The portion of the accrued liability relating to both the opt-out merchants and the Damages class litigation settlement does not represent an estimate of a loss, if any, if the matters were litigated to a final outcome. Mastercard cannot estimate the potential liability if that were to occur. Canada. In December 2010, a proposed class action complaint was commenced against Mastercard in Quebec on behalf of Canadian merchants. The suit essentially repeated the allegations and arguments of a previously filed application by the Canadian Competition Bureau to the Canadian Competition Tribunal (dismissed in Mastercard’s favor) concerning certain Mastercard rules related to point-of-sale acceptance, including the “honor all cards” and “no surcharge” rules. The Quebec suit sought compensatory and punitive damages in unspecified amounts, as well as injunctive relief. In the first half of 2011, additional purported class action lawsuits were commenced in British Columbia and Ontario against Mastercard, Visa and a number of large Canadian financial institutions. The British Columbia suit sought compensatory damages in unspecified amounts, and the Ontario suit sought compensatory damages of $5 billion on the basis of alleged conspiracy and various alleged breaches of the Canadian Competition Act. Additional purported class action complaints were commenced in Saskatchewan and Alberta with claims that largely mirror those in the other suits. In June 2017, Mastercard entered into a class settlement agreement to resolve all of the Canadian class action litigation. The settlement, which requires Mastercard to make a cash payment and modify its “no surcharge” rule, has received court approval in each Canadian province. Objectors to the settlement have sought to appeal the approval orders. Certain appellate courts have rejected the objectors’ appeals, while outstanding appeals remain in a few provinces. In 2017, Mastercard recorded a provision for litigation of $15 million related to this matter. Europe. In July 2015, the European Commission (“EC”) issued a Statement of Objections related to Mastercard’s interregional interchange fees and central acquiring rule within the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). The Statement of Objections, which followed an investigation opened in 2013, included preliminary conclusions concerning the alleged anticompetitive effects of these practices. In December 2018, Mastercard announced the anticipated resolution of the EC’s investigation. With respect to interregional interchange fees, Mastercard made a settlement proposal whereby it would make changes to its interregional interchange fees. The EC issued a decision accepting the settlement in April 2019, with changes to interregional interchange fees going into effect in the fourth quarter of 2019. In addition, with respect to Mastercard’s historic central acquiring rule, the EC issued a negative decision in January 2019. The EC’s negative decision covers a period of time of less than two years before the rule’s modification. The rule was modified in late 2015 to comply with the requirements of the EEA Interchange Fee Regulation. The decision does not require any modification of Mastercard’s current business practices but included a fine of €571 million, which was paid in April 2019. Mastercard incurred a charge of $654 million in 2018 in relation to this matter. Since May 2012, a number of United Kingdom (“U.K.”) retailers filed claims or threatened litigation against Mastercard seeking damages for alleged anti-competitive conduct with respect to Mastercard’s cross-border interchange fees and its U.K. and Ireland domestic interchange fees (the “U.K. Merchant claimants”). In addition, Mastercard, has faced similar filed or threatened litigation by merchants with respect to interchange rates in other countries in Europe (the “Pan-European Merchant claimants”). In aggregate, the alleged damages claims from the U.K. and Pan-European Merchant claimants were in the amount of approximately £3 billion (approximately $4 billion as of September 30, 2019). Mastercard has resolved over £2 billion (approximately $3 billion as of September 30, 2019) of these damages claims through settlement or judgment. Since June 2015, Mastercard has recorded litigation provisions for settlements, judgments and legal fees relating to these claims, including charges of $237 million in 2018. As detailed below, Mastercard continues to litigate with the remaining U.K. and Pan-European Merchant claimants and it has submitted statements of defense disputing liability and damages claims. In January 2017, Mastercard received a liability judgment in its favor on all significant matters in a separate action brought by ten of the U.K. Merchant claimants. Three of the U.K. Merchant claimants appealed the judgment, and these appeals were combined with Mastercard’s appeal of a 2016 judgment in favor of one U.K. merchant. In July 2018, the U.K. appellate court ruled against both Mastercard and Visa on two of the three legal issues being considered, concluding that U.K. interchange rates restricted competition and that they were not objectively necessary for the payment networks. The appellate court sent the cases back to trial for reconsideration on the remaining issue concerning the “lawful” level of interchange. Mastercard and Visa have been granted permission to appeal the appellate court ruling to the U.K. Supreme Court. Mastercard expects the litigation process to be delayed pending the resolution of its appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court. In September 2016, a proposed collective action was filed in the United Kingdom on behalf of U.K. consumers seeking damages for intra-EEA and domestic U.K. interchange fees that were allegedly passed on to consumers by merchants between 1992 and 2008. The complaint, which seeks to leverage the European Commission’s 2007 decision on intra-EEA interchange fees, claims damages in an amount that exceeds £14 billion (approximately $17 billion as of September 30, 2019). In July 2017, the trial court denied the plaintiffs’ application for the case to proceed as a collective action. In April 2019, the U.K. appellate court granted the plaintiffs’ appeal of the trial court’s decision and sent the case back to the trial court for a re-hearing on the plaintiffs’ collective action application. Mastercard has been granted permission to appeal the appellate court ruling to the U.K. Supreme Court and oral argument on that appeal is scheduled to occur in May 2020. ATM Non-Discrimination Rule Surcharge Complaints In October 2011, a trade association of independent Automated Teller Machine (“ATM”) operators and 13 independent ATM operators filed a complaint styled as a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against both Mastercard and Visa (the “ATM Operators Complaint”). Plaintiffs seek to represent a class of non-bank operators of ATM terminals that operate in the United States with the discretion to determine the price of the ATM access fee for the terminals they operate. Plaintiffs allege that Mastercard and Visa have violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by imposing rules that require ATM operators to charge non-discriminatory ATM surcharges for transactions processed over Mastercard’s and Visa’s respective networks that are not greater than the surcharge for transactions over other networks accepted at the same ATM. Plaintiffs seek both injunctive and monetary relief equal to treble the damages they claim to have sustained as a result of the alleged violations and their costs of suit, including attorneys’ fees. Subsequently, multiple related complaints were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging both federal antitrust and multiple state unfair competition, consumer protection and common law claims against Mastercard and Visa on behalf of putative classes of users of ATM services (the “ATM Consumer Complaints”). The claims in these actions largely mirror the allegations made in the ATM Operators Complaint, although these complaints seek damages on behalf of consumers of ATM services who pay allegedly inflated ATM fees at both bank and non-bank ATM operators as a result of the defendants’ ATM rules. Plaintiffs seek both injunctive and monetary relief equal to treble the damages they claim to have sustained as a result of the alleged violations and their costs of suit, including attorneys’ fees. In January 2012, the plaintiffs in the ATM Operators Complaint and the ATM Consumer Complaints filed amended class action complaints that largely mirror their prior complaints. In February 2013, the district court granted Mastercard’s motion to dismiss the complaints for failure to state a claim. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s order in August 2015 and sent the case back for further proceedings. In September 2019, the plaintiffs filed their motions for class certification in which the plaintiffs, in aggregate, allege over $1 billion in damages against all of the defendants. Mastercard intends to vigorously defend against both the plaintiffs’ liability and damages claims and to oppose class certification. Mastercard expects briefing on class certification to be completed in the second quarter of 2020. U.S. Liability Shift Litigation In March 2016, a proposed U.S. merchant class action complaint was filed in federal court in California alleging that Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover (the “Network Defendants”), EMVCo, and a number of issuing banks (the “Bank Defendants”) engaged in a conspiracy to shift fraud liability for card present transactions from issuing banks to merchants not yet in compliance with the standards for EMV chip cards in the United States (the “EMV Liability Shift”), in violation of the Sherman Act and California law. Plaintiffs allege damages equal to the value of all chargebacks for which class members became liable as a result of the EMV Liability Shift on October 1, 2015. The plaintiffs seek treble damages, attorney’s fees and costs and an injunction against future violations of governing law, and the defendants have filed a motion to dismiss. In September 2016, the court denied the Network Defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint, but granted such a motion for EMVCo and the Bank Defendants. In May 2017, the court transferred the case to New York so that discovery could be coordinated with the U.S. merchant class interchange litigation described above. The plaintiffs have filed a renewed motion for class certification, following the district court’s denial of their initial motion. Telephone Consumer Protection Class Action Mastercard is a defendant in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) class action pending in Florida. The plaintiffs are individuals and businesses who allege that approximately 381,000 unsolicited faxes were sent to them advertising a Mastercard co-brand card issued by First Arkansas Bank (“FAB”). The TCPA provides for uncapped statutory damages of $500 per fax. Mastercard has asserted various defenses to the claims, and has notified FAB of an indemnity claim that it has (which FAB has disputed). In June 2018, the court granted Mastercard’s motion to stay the proceedings until the Federal Communications Commission makes a decision on the application of the TCPA to online fax services.

Settlement and Other Risk Management

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Settlement and Other Risk Management [Abstract]

Settlement and Other Risk Management

Mastercard’s rules guarantee the settlement of many of the transactions between its customers (“settlement risk”). Settlement exposure is the settlement risk to customers under Mastercard’s rules due to the difference in timing between the payment transaction date and subsequent settlement. While the term and amount of the guarantee are unlimited, the duration of settlement exposure is short term and typically limited to a few days.

Gross settlement exposure is estimated using the average daily payment volume during the three months ended September 30, 2019 multiplied by the estimated number of days of exposure. The Company has global risk management policies and procedures, which include risk standards, to provide a framework for managing the Company’s settlement risk and exposure. In the event of a failed customer, Mastercard may pursue one or more remedies available under the Company’s rules to recover potential losses. Historically, the Company has experienced a low level of losses from customer failures.

As part of its policies, Mastercard requires certain customers that are not in compliance with the Company’s risk standards to post collateral, typically in the form of cash, letters of credit, or guarantees. This requirement is based on a review of the individual risk circumstances for each customer. Mastercard monitors its credit risk portfolio on a regular basis and the adequacy of collateral on hand. Additionally, from time to time, the Company reviews its risk management methodology and standards. As such, the amounts of estimated settlement exposure are revised as necessary.

The Company’s estimated settlement exposure was as follows:



	September 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Gross settlement exposure	$	53,884		$	49,666
Collateral held for settlement exposure	(4,503		)	(4,711		)
Net uncollateralized settlement exposure	$	49,381		$	44,955

Mastercard also provides guarantees to customers and certain other counterparties indemnifying them from losses stemming from failures of third parties to perform duties. This includes guarantees of Mastercard-branded travelers cheques issued, but not yet cashed of $366 million and $377 million at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, of which $289 million and $297 million at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, is mitigated by collateral arrangements. In addition, the Company enters into agreements in the ordinary course of business under which the Company agrees to indemnify third parties against damages, losses and expenses incurred in connection with legal and other proceedings arising from relationships or transactions with the Company. Certain indemnifications do not provide a stated maximum exposure. As the extent of the Company’s obligations under these agreements depends entirely upon the occurrence of future events, the Company’s potential future liability under these agreements is not determinable. Historically, payments made by the Company under these types of contractual arrangements have not been material.

Foreign Exchange Risk Management

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Foreign Currency Derivatives [Abstract]

Foreign Exchange Risk Management

The Company monitors and manages its foreign currency exposures as part of its overall risk management program which focuses on the unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to reduce the potentially adverse effects that the volatility of these markets may have on its operating results. A primary objective of the Company’s risk management strategies is to reduce the financial impact that may arise from volatility in foreign currency exchange rates principally through the use of both foreign currency derivative contracts (Derivatives) and foreign currency denominated debt (Net Investment Hedge).

Derivatives

The Company enters into foreign currency derivative contracts to manage risk associated with anticipated receipts and disbursements which are valued based on currencies other than the functional currencies of the entity. The Company may also enter into foreign currency derivative contracts to offset possible changes in value due to foreign exchange fluctuations of earnings, assets and liabilities. The objective of these activities is to reduce the Company’s exposure to gains and losses resulting from fluctuations of foreign currencies against its functional currencies.

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the majority of derivative contracts to hedge foreign currency fluctuations had been entered into with customers of Mastercard. Mastercard’s derivative contracts are summarized below:



	September 30, 2019					December 31, 2018
	Notional		Estimated Fair Value			Notional		Estimated Fair Value
	(in millions)
Commitments to purchase foreign currency	$	133	$	(5	)	$	34	$	(1	)
Commitments to sell foreign currency	1,374		12			1,066		26
Options to sell foreign currency	21		2			25		4
Balance sheet location
Prepaid expenses and other current assets ¹			30					35
Other current liabilities ¹			(21		)			(6		)

¹ The derivative contracts are subject to enforceable master netting arrangements, which contain various netting and setoff provisions.

The amount of gain (loss) recognized on the consolidated statement of operations for the contracts to purchase and sell foreign currency is summarized below:



	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2019		2018		2019			2018
	(in millions)
Foreign currency derivative contracts
General and administrative	$	17	$	13	$	(3	)	$	48

The fair value of the foreign currency derivative contracts generally reflects the estimated amounts that the Company would receive (or pay), on a pre-tax basis, to terminate the contracts. The terms of the foreign currency derivative contracts are generally less than 18 months. The Company had no deferred gains or losses related to foreign exchange contracts in accumulated other comprehensive income as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, as these contracts were not accounted for under hedge accounting.

The Company’s derivative financial instruments are subject to both market and counterparty credit risk. Market risk is the potential for economic losses to be incurred on market risk sensitive instruments arising from adverse changes in market factors such as foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and other related variables. The effect of a hypothetical 10% adverse change in U.S. dollar forward rates could result in a fair value loss of approximately $138 million on the Company’s foreign currency derivative contracts outstanding at September 30, 2019. Counterparty credit risk is the risk of loss due to failure of the counterparty to perform its obligations in accordance with contractual terms. To mitigate counterparty credit risk, the Company enters into derivative contracts with a diversified group of selected financial institutions based upon their credit ratings and other factors. Generally, the Company does not obtain collateral related to derivatives because of the high credit ratings of the counterparties.

Net Investment Hedge

The Company uses foreign currency denominated debt to hedge a portion of its net investment in foreign operations against adverse movements in exchange rates, with changes in the value of the debt recorded within currency translation adjustment in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). In 2015, the Company designated its €1.65 billion euro-denominated debt as a net investment hedge for a portion of its net investment in European operations. As of September 30, 2019, the Company had a net foreign currency transaction pre-tax loss of $40 million in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) associated with hedging activity.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Organization

Mastercard Incorporated and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Mastercard International Incorporated (“Mastercard International” and together with Mastercard Incorporated, “Mastercard” or the “Company”), is a technology company in the global payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, digital partners, businesses and other organizations worldwide, enabling them to use electronic forms of payment instead of cash and checks.

Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Mastercard and its majority-owned and controlled entities, including any variable interest entities (“VIEs”) for which the Company is the primary beneficiary. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, there were no significant VIEs which required consolidation. The Company consolidates acquisitions as of the date in which the Company has obtained a controlling financial interest. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2019 presentation. The Company follows accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

The balance sheet as of December 31, 2018 was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2018. The consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 and as of September 30, 2019 are unaudited, and in the opinion of management, include all normal recurring adjustments that are necessary to present fairly the results for interim periods. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) requirements for Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Reference should be made to the Mastercard Incorporated Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 for additional disclosures, including a summary of the Company’s significant accounting policies.

Non-controlling interest amounts are included in the consolidated statement of operations within other income (expense). For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, activity from non-controlling interests was not material to the respective period results.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

Comprehensive income - In February 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued accounting guidance that allows for a one-time reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from U.S. tax reform. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2019, electing to retain the stranded tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). The adoption did not result in a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Leases - In February 2016, the FASB issued accounting guidance that changed how companies account for and present lease arrangements. This guidance requires companies to recognize lease assets and liabilities for both financing and operating leases on the consolidated balance sheet. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2019, under the modified retrospective transition method with the available practical expedients.

The following table summarizes the impact of the changes made to the January 1, 2019 consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of the new accounting standard pertaining to leases. The prior periods have not been restated and have been reported under the accounting standard in effect for those periods.



	Balance at December 31, 2018		Impact of lease standard		Balance at January 1, 2019
	(in millions)
Assets
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	$	921	$	375	$	1,296
Liabilities
Other current liabilities	949		72		1,021
Other liabilities	1,877		303		2,180

For a more detailed discussion on lease arrangements, refer to Note 8 (Property, Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets).

Recent accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

Implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract - In August 2018, the FASB issued accounting guidance which aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. This guidance is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Companies are required to adopt this guidance either retrospectively or by prospectively applying the guidance to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. The Company expects to adopt this guidance effective January 1, 2020 by applying the prospective approach as of the date of adoption and is in the process of evaluating the potential effects this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements and, at this time, does not expect the impacts to be material.

Disclosure requirements for fair value measurement - In August 2018, the FASB issued accounting guidance which modifies disclosure requirements for fair value measurements by removing, modifying and adding certain disclosures. This guidance is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Companies are required to adopt the guidance for certain added disclosures prospectively for only the most recent interim or annual period presented in the initial fiscal year of adoption and all other amendments retrospectively to all periods presented upon their effective date. The Company expects to adopt this guidance effective January 1, 2020 and does not expect the impacts to be material.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Schedule of New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles

The following table summarizes the impact of the changes made to the January 1, 2019 consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of the new accounting standard pertaining to leases. The prior periods have not been restated and have been reported under the accounting standard in effect for those periods.



	Balance at December 31, 2018		Impact of lease standard		Balance at January 1, 2019
	(in millions)
Assets
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	$	921	$	375	$	1,296
Liabilities
Other current liabilities	949		72		1,021
Other liabilities	1,877		303		2,180

Acquisitions (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Schedule of Recognized Identified Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed

The preliminary estimated fair values of the purchase price allocations in aggregate, as of the acquisition dates, are noted below:



	(in millions)
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	48
Other current assets	148
Other intangible assets	303
Goodwill	881
Other assets	32
Total assets	1,412

Liabilities:
Other current liabilities	106
Deferred income taxes	52
Other liabilities	29
Total liabilities	187

Net assets acquired	$	1,225

Finite-Lived and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets Acquired as Part of Business Combination

The following table summarizes the identified intangible assets acquired:



	Acquisition Date Fair Value		Weighted-Average Useful Life
	(in millions)		(in years)
Developed technologies	$	160	7.6
Customer relationships	134		12.7
Other	9		2.0
Other intangible assets	$	303	9.7

Revenue (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Disaggregation of Revenue

The Company’s disaggregated net revenue by source and geographic region were as follows:



	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2019			2018			2019			2018
	(in millions)
Revenue by source:
Domestic assessments	$	1,722		$	1,564		$	5,007		$	4,559
Cross-border volume fees	1,517			1,338			4,154			3,693
Transaction processing	2,231			1,912			6,206			5,449
Other revenues	1,087			819			2,891			2,352
Gross revenue	6,557			5,633			18,258			16,053
Rebates and incentives (contra-revenue)	(2,090		)	(1,735		)	(5,789		)	(4,910		)
Net revenue	$	4,467		$	3,898		$	12,469		$	11,143

Net revenue by geographic region:
North American Markets	$	1,545		$	1,360		$	4,333		$	3,941
International Markets	2,877			2,505			8,013			7,095
Other ¹	45			33			123			107
Net revenue	$	4,467		$	3,898		$	12,469		$	11,143

¹Includes revenues managed by corporate functions.

Earnings Per Share (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Schedule of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share

The components of basic and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) for common shares were as follows:



	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
	(in millions, except per share data)
Numerator
Net income	$	2,108	$	1,899	$	6,018	$	4,960
Denominator
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding	1,013		1,037		1,020		1,044
Dilutive stock options and stock units	6		6		5		6
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding¹	1,019		1,043		1,025		1,050
Earnings per Share
Basic	$	2.08	$	1.83	$	5.90	$	4.75
Diluted	$	2.07	$	1.82	$	5.87	$	4.73

¹ For the periods presented, the calculation of diluted EPS excluded a minimal amount of anti-dilutive share-based payment awards.

Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Cash and Cash Equivalents [Abstract]

Schedule of Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents reported on the consolidated balance sheet that total to the amounts shown on the consolidated statement of cash flows.



	December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	6,682	$	5,933
Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents
Restricted cash for litigation settlement	553		546
Restricted security deposits held for customers	1,080		1,085
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	22		28
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents - beginning of period	$	8,337	$	7,592

	September 30,
	2019		2018
	(in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	5,101	$	6,871
Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents
Restricted cash for litigation settlement	666		550
Restricted security deposits held for customers	1,173		1,034
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	32		23
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents - end of period	$	6,972	$	8,478

Fair Value and Investment Securities (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Distribution of Financial Instruments, Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

The distribution of the Company’s financial instruments measured at fair value on a recurring basis within the Valuation Hierarchy were as follows:



	September 30, 2019											December 31, 2018
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)			Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total			Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)			Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
	(in millions)
Assets
Investment securities available for sale ¹:
Municipal securities	$	—		$	8		$	—	$	8		$	—		$	15		$	—	$	15
Government and agency securities	96			52			—		148			65			92			—		157
Corporate securities	—			411			—		411			—			1,043			—		1,043
Asset-backed securities	—			92			—		92			—			217			—		217
Derivative instruments ²:
Foreign currency derivative assets	—			30			—		30			—			35			—		35
Marketable equity investments ³:
Equity securities	369			—			—		369			—			—			—		—
Deferred compensation plan ⁴:
Deferred compensation assets	65			—			—		65			54			—			—		54

Liabilities
Derivative instruments ²:
Foreign currency derivative liabilities	$	—		$	(21	)	$	—	$	(21	)	$	—		$	(6	)	$	—	$	(6	)
Deferred compensation plan ⁵:
Deferred compensation liabilities	(66		)	—			—		(66		)	(54		)	—			—		(54		)

¹The Company’s U.S. government securities are classified within Level 1 of the Valuation Hierarchy as the fair values are based on unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets in active markets. The fair value of the Company’s available-for-sale municipal securities, government and agency securities, corporate securities and asset-backed securities are based on observable inputs such as quoted prices, benchmark yields and issuer spreads for similar assets in active markets and are therefore included in Level 2 of the Valuation Hierarchy.

² The Company’s foreign currency derivative asset and liability contracts have been classified within Level 2 of the Valuation Hierarchy as the fair value is based on observable inputs such as broker quotes relating to foreign currency exchange rates for similar derivative instruments. See Note 17 (Foreign Exchange Risk Management) for further details.

³ The Company’s marketable equity securities are publicly held and classified within Level 1 of the Valuation Hierarchy as the fair values are based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.

⁴ The Company has a nonqualified deferred compensation plan where assets are invested primarily in mutual funds held in a rabbi trust, which is restricted for payments to participants of the plan. The Company has elected to use the fair value option for these mutual funds, which are measured using quoted prices of identical instruments in active markets and are included in prepaid expenses and other current assets on the consolidated balance sheet.

⁵ The deferred compensation liabilities are measured at fair value based on the quoted prices of identical instruments to the investment vehicles selected by the participants. These are included in other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet.

Available-for-Sale Investment Securities, Unrealized Gains and Losses

The major classes of the Company’s available-for-sale investment securities, for which unrealized gains and losses are recorded as a separate component of other comprehensive income (loss) on the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, and their respective amortized cost basis and fair values as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were as follows:



	September 30, 2019								December 31, 2018
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gain		Gross Unrealized Loss		Fair Value		Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gain		Gross Unrealized Loss			Fair Value
	(in millions)
Municipal securities	$	8	$	—	$	—	$	8	$	15	$	—	$	—		$	15
Government and agency securities	148		—		—		148		157		—		—			157
Corporate securities	410		1		—		411		1,044		1		(2		)	1,043
Asset-backed securities	91		1		—		92		217		—		—			217
Total	$	657	$	2	$	—	$	659	$	1,433	$	1	$	(2	)	$	1,432

Maturity Distribution Based on Contractual Terms of Investment Securities

The maturity distribution based on the contractual terms of the Company’s investment securities at September 30, 2019 was as follows:



	Available-For-Sale
	Amortized Cost		Fair Value
	(in millions)
Due within 1 year	$	222	$	222
Due after 1 year through 5 years	435		437
Total	$	657	$	659

Prepaid Expenses and Other Assets (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Prepaid Expense and Other Assets [Abstract]

Schedule of Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consisted of the following:



	September 30, 2019		December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Customer and merchant incentives	$	885	$	778
Prepaid income taxes	192		51
Other	856		603
Total prepaid expenses and other current assets	$	1,933	$	1,432

Schedule of Other Assets, Noncurrent

Other assets consisted of the following:



	September 30, 2019		December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Customer and merchant incentives	$	2,650	$	2,458
Equity investments	757		337
Income taxes receivable	430		298
Other	253		210
Total other assets	$	4,090	$	3,303

Property, Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property. equipment and right-of-use assets

Property, equipment and right-of-use assets consisted of the following:



	September 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Building, building equipment and land	$	492		$	481
Equipment	1,155			987
Furniture and fixtures	87			85
Leasehold improvements	265			215
Operating lease right-of-use assets	513			—
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets	2,512			1,768
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(1,020		)	(847		)
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	$	1,492		$	921

Schedule of Property, Equipment, Operating Lease Right-of-Use Assets and Operating Lease Liabilities

Operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are recorded on the consolidated balance sheet as follows:



	September 30, 2019
	(in millions)
Balance sheet location
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	$	444
Other current liabilities	98
Other liabilities	386

Schedule of Maturities of Operating Lease Liabilities

The following table summarizes the maturity of the Company’s operating lease liabilities at September 30, 2019 based on lease term:



	Operating Leases
	(in millions)
Remainder of 2019	$	26
2020	99
2021	82
2022	76
2023	67
Thereafter	174
Total operating lease payments	524
Less: Interest	(40		)
Present value of operating lease liabilities	$	484

Future minimum payments for Operating Leases

At December 31, 2018, the Company had the following future minimum payments due under non‐cancelable leases:



	Operating Leases
	(in millions)
2019	$	72
2020	75
2021	76
2022	68
2023	58
Thereafter	327
Total	$	676

Accrued Expenses and Accrued Litigation (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accrued Liabilities, Current [Abstract]

Accrued Expenses

Accrued expenses consisted of the following:



	September 30, 2019		December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Customer and merchant incentives	$	3,480	$	3,275
Personnel costs	576		744
Income and other taxes	462		158
Other	467		570
Total accrued expenses	$	4,985	$	4,747

Debt (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Debt [Abstract]

Schedule of Long-term Debt

Long-term debt consisted of the following at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:



Notes	Issuance Date	Interest Payment Terms	Maturity Date	Aggregate Principal Amount		Stated Interest Rate		Effective Interest Rate		September 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
				(in millions, except percentages)
2019 USD Notes	May 2019	Semi-annually	2029	$	1,000	2.950	%	3.030	%	$	1,000		$	—
			2049	1,000		3.650	%	3.689	%	1,000			—
				$	2,000

2018 USD Notes	February 2018	Semi-annually	2028	$	500	3.500	%	3.598	%	500			500
			2048	500		3.950	%	3.990	%	500			500
				$	1,000

2016 USD Notes	November 2016	Semi-annually	2021	$	650	2.000	%	2.236	%	650			650
			2026	750		2.950	%	3.044	%	750			750
			2046	600		3.800	%	3.893	%	600			600
				$	2,000

2015 Euro Notes	December 2015	Annually	2022	€	700	1.100	%	1.265	%	765			801
			2027	800		2.100	%	2.189	%	875			916
			2030	150		2.500	%	2.562	%	164			172
				€	1,650

2014 USD Notes	March 2014	Semi-annually	2019	$	500	2.000	%	2.178	%	—			500
			2024	1,000		3.375	%	3.484	%	1,000			1,000
				$	1,500
										7,804			6,389
Less: Unamortized discount and debt issuance costs										(69		)	(55		)
Total debt outstanding										7,735			6,334
Less: Current portion¹										—			(500		)
Long-term debt										$	7,735		$	5,834

¹Relates to the 2014 USD Notes, which was classified in current liabilities as of December 31, 2018, matured and was paid during the second quarter of 2019

Stockholders' Equity (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Equity [Abstract]

Schedule of share repurchases and authorizations

The following table summarizes the Company’s share repurchase authorizations of its Class A common stock through September 30, 2019, as well as historical purchases:




Board authorization dates	December 2018		December 2017		December 2016

Date program became effective	January 2019		March 2018		April 2017		Total
	(in millions, except average price data)
Board authorization	$	6,500	$	4,000	$	4,000	$	14,500
Dollar value of shares repurchased during the nine months ended September 30, 2018	$	—	$	2,811	$	1,234	$	4,045
Remaining authorization at December 31, 2018	$	6,500	$	301	$	—	$	6,801
Dollar value of shares repurchased during the nine months ended September 30, 2019	$	5,202	$	301	$	—	$	5,503
Remaining authorization at September 30, 2019	$	1,298	$	—	$	—	$	1,298

Shares repurchased during the nine months ended September 30, 2018	—		14.6		7.2		21.8
Average price paid per share during the nine months ended September 30, 2018	$	—	$	192.82	$	171.11	$	185.64
Shares repurchased during the nine months ended September 30, 2019	21.2		1.6		—		22.8
Average price paid per share during the nine months ended September 30, 2019	$	245.25	$	188.38	$	—	$	241.27
Cumulative shares repurchased through September 30, 2019	21.2		20.6		28.2		70.0
Cumulative average price paid per share	$	245.25	$	194.27	$	141.99	$	188.68

Schedule of Changes in Common Stock Outstanding

The following table presents the changes in the Company’s outstanding Class A and Class B common stock for the nine months ended September 30, 2019:



	Outstanding Shares
	Class A		Class B
	(in millions)
Balance at December 31, 2018	1,018.6		11.8
Purchases of treasury stock	(22.8	)	—
Share-based payments	2.8		—
Conversion of Class B to Class A common stock	0.3		(0.3	)
Balance at September 30, 2019	998.9		11.5

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax [Abstract]

Schedule of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The changes in the balances of each component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:



	Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments ¹			Translation Adjustments on Net Investment Hedge			Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans			Investment Securities Available-for-Sale			Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
	(in millions)
Balance at December 31, 2018	$	(661	)	$	(66	)	$	10		$	(1	)	$	(718	)
Other comprehensive income (loss) for the period ²	(204		)	62			(1		)	3			(140		)
Balance at September 30, 2019	$	(865	)	$	(4	)	$	9		$	2		$	(858	)

Balance at December 31, 2017	$	(382	)	$	(141	)	$	25		$	1		$	(497	)
Other comprehensive income (loss) for the period ²	(224		)	54			(1		)	(2		)	(173		)
Balance at September 30, 2018	$	(606	)	$	(87	)	$	24		$	(1	)	$	(670	)

¹During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the increases in other comprehensive loss related to foreign currency translation adjustments were driven primarily by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Brazilian real, British pound and euro.

²During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, gains and losses reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to the consolidated statement of operations were not significant.

Share-Based Payments Awards Granted (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Share-based Payment Arrangement, Additional Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Compensation Cost for Share-based Payment Arrangements, Allocation of Share-based Compensation Costs by Plan

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company granted the following awards under the Mastercard Incorporated 2006 Long Term Incentive Plan, as amended and restated as of June 5, 2012 (the “LTIP”). The LTIP is a stockholder-approved plan that permits the grant of various types of equity awards to employees.



	Grants in 2019	Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
	(in millions)	(per option/unit)
Non-qualified stock options	0.9	$53
Restricted stock units	0.9	$225
Performance stock units	0.1	$231

Settlement and Other Risk Management (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Settlement and Other Risk Management [Abstract]

Estimated Settlement Exposure and Portion of Uncollateralized Settlement Exposure for Mastercard-Branded Transactions

The Company’s estimated settlement exposure was as follows:



	September 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
	(in millions)
Gross settlement exposure	$	53,884		$	49,666
Collateral held for settlement exposure	(4,503		)	(4,711		)
Net uncollateralized settlement exposure	$	49,381		$	44,955

Foreign Exchange Risk Management (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Foreign Currency Derivatives [Abstract]

Derivative contract summary

Mastercard’s derivative contracts are summarized below:



	September 30, 2019					December 31, 2018
	Notional		Estimated Fair Value			Notional		Estimated Fair Value
	(in millions)
Commitments to purchase foreign currency	$	133	$	(5	)	$	34	$	(1	)
Commitments to sell foreign currency	1,374		12			1,066		26
Options to sell foreign currency	21		2			25		4
Balance sheet location
Prepaid expenses and other current assets ¹			30					35
Other current liabilities ¹			(21		)			(6		)

¹ The derivative contracts are subject to enforceable master netting arrangements, which contain various netting and setoff provisions.

Gain (loss) recognized in income for the contracts to purchase and sell foreign currency summary

The amount of gain (loss) recognized on the consolidated statement of operations for the contracts to purchase and sell foreign currency is summarized below:



	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2019		2018		2019			2018
	(in millions)
Foreign currency derivative contracts
General and administrative	$	17	$	13	$	(3	)	$	48

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Cumulative Effect of the Adopted Accounting Pronouncements (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Jan. 01, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	$ 1,492	$ 1,296	$ 921
Other current liabilities	955	1,021	949
Other liabilities	$ 2,386	2,180	$ 1,877
Accounting Standards Update 2016-02
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net		375
Other current liabilities		72
Other liabilities		$ 303

Acquisitions - Narrative (Details) € in Millions, $ in Millions		1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Oct. 29, 2019 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2019 EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)
2019 Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Total consideration				$ 1,200
Nets Denmark A/S, Corporate Services
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Commitments to acquire businesses, total consideration	$ 3,120		€ 2,850
Subsequent Event \| 2019 Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Commitments to acquire businesses, total consideration		$ 290

Acquisitions - Estimated Fair Values of the Purchase Price Allocations (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 3,724	$ 2,904
2019 Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	48
Other current assets	148
Other intangible assets	303
Goodwill	881
Other assets	32
Total assets	1,412
Other current liabilities	106
Deferred income taxes	52
Other liabilities	29
Total liabilities	187
Net assets acquired	$ 1,225

Acquisitions - Identified Intangible Assets Acquired (Details) - 2019 Acquisitions $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets	$ 303
Weighted-Average Useful Life	9 years 8 months 12 days
Developed technologies
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets	$ 160
Weighted-Average Useful Life	7 years 7 months 6 days
Customer relationships
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets	$ 134
Weighted-Average Useful Life	12 years 8 months 12 days
Other
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets	$ 9
Weighted-Average Useful Life	2 years

Revenue Disaggregation of Revenue (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Gross revenue	$ 6,557	$ 5,633	$ 18,258	$ 16,053
Rebates and incentives (contra-revenue)	(2,090)	(1,735)	(5,789)	(4,910)
Net revenue	4,467	3,898	12,469	11,143
North American Markets
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net revenue	1,545	1,360	4,333	3,941
International Markets
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net revenue	2,877	2,505	8,013	7,095
Other
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net revenue	45	33	123	107
Domestic assessments
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Gross revenue	1,722	1,564	5,007	4,559
Cross-border volume fees
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Gross revenue	1,517	1,338	4,154	3,693
Transaction processing
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Gross revenue	2,231	1,912	6,206	5,449
Other revenues
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Gross revenue	$ 1,087	$ 819	$ 2,891	$ 2,352

Revenue Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
Revenue Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2018
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue recognized from performance obligations	$ 246	$ 202	$ 613	$ 570
Receivables from contracts with customers
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Contract assets	2,300		2,300		$ 2,100
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Contract assets	51		51		40
Other Assets
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Contract assets	109		109		92
Other current liabilities
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Deferred revenue	281		281		218
Other Liabilities
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Deferred revenue	$ 108		$ 108		$ 101

Earnings Per Share Schedule of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended						9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Numerator
Net income	$ 2,108	$ 2,048	$ 1,862	$ 1,899	$ 1,569	$ 1,492	$ 6,018	$ 4,960
Denominator
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding	1,013			1,037			1,020	1,044
Dilutive stock options and stock units	6			6			5	6
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding	1,019			1,043			1,025	1,050
Earnings per Share
Basic	$ 2.08			$ 1.83			$ 5.90	$ 4.75
Diluted	$ 2.07			$ 1.82			$ 5.87	$ 4.73

- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

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- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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- Definition

The consolidated profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, including the portion attributable to the noncontrolling interest.

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+ Details

Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 5,101	$ 6,682	$ 6,871	$ 5,933
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents	6,972	8,337	8,478	7,592
Restricted cash for litigation settlement
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents	666	553	550	546
Restricted security deposits held for customers
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents	1,173	1,080	1,034	1,085
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents	$ 32	$ 22	$ 23	$ 28

Fair Value and Investment Securities Distribution of Financial Instruments, Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Foreign currency derivative assets	$ 30	$ 35
Deferred compensation assets	65	54
Foreign currency derivative liabilities	(21)	(6)
Deferred compensation liabilities	(66)	(54)
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Foreign currency derivative assets	0	0
Deferred compensation assets	65	54
Foreign currency derivative liabilities	0	0
Deferred compensation liabilities	(66)	(54)
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Foreign currency derivative assets	30	35
Deferred compensation assets	0	0
Foreign currency derivative liabilities	(21)	(6)
Deferred compensation liabilities	0	0
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Foreign currency derivative assets	0	0
Deferred compensation assets	0	0
Foreign currency derivative liabilities	0	0
Deferred compensation liabilities	0	0
Municipal securities
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	8	15
Municipal securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	0	0
Municipal securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	8	15
Municipal securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	0	0
Government and agency securities
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	148	157
Government and agency securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	96	65
Government and agency securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	52	92
Government and agency securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	0	0
Corporate securities
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	411	1,043
Corporate securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	0	0
Corporate securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	411	1,043
Corporate securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	0	0
Asset-backed securities
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	92	217
Asset-backed securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	0	0
Asset-backed securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	92	217
Asset-backed securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	0	0
Equity securities
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	369	0
Equity securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	369	0
Equity securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	0	0
Equity securities \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3
Fair Value, Option, Quantitative Disclosures
Fair Value, Measured on Recurring Basis	$ 0	$ 0

Fair Value and Investment Securities - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2018
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Certain marketable equity securities	$ 348		$ 348
Nonmarketable equity investments	388		388		$ 337
Alternative Investment, Carrying Value	272		272		232
Equity Method Investments, carrying value	116		116		105
Debt, Long-term and Short-term, Combined Amount	7,735		7,735		6,334
Gains (losses) on equity investments, net	(100)	$ 0	48	$ 0
Fair Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term Debt, Fair Value	8,500		8,500		6,500
Short-Term Investments \| Fair Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Held-to-maturity Securities	$ 92		92		264
Contingent Consideration \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Contingent consideration liability					$ 219
Contingent consideration settlement			$ 219

Fair Value and Investment Securities Available-for-Sale Investment Securities, Unrealized Gains and Losses (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Investment Identifier
Amortized Cost	$ 657	$ 1,433
Gross Unrealized Gain	2	1
Gross Unrealized Loss	0	(2)
Fair Value	659	1,432
Municipal securities
Investment Identifier
Amortized Cost	8	15
Gross Unrealized Gain	0	0
Gross Unrealized Loss	0	0
Fair Value	8	15
Government and agency securities
Investment Identifier
Amortized Cost	148	157
Gross Unrealized Gain	0	0
Gross Unrealized Loss	0	0
Fair Value	148	157
Corporate securities
Investment Identifier
Amortized Cost	410	1,044
Gross Unrealized Gain	1	1
Gross Unrealized Loss	0	(2)
Fair Value	411	1,043
Asset-backed securities
Investment Identifier
Amortized Cost	91	217
Gross Unrealized Gain	1	0
Gross Unrealized Loss	0	0
Fair Value	$ 92	$ 217

Fair Value and Investment Securities Maturity Distribution Based on Contractual Terms of Investment Securities (Details) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)
Available-For-Sale Amortized Cost
Due within 1 year	$ 222
Due after 1 year through 5 years	435
Total	657
Available-For-Sale Fair Value
Due within 1 year	222
Due after 1 year through 5 years	437
Total	$ 659

Prepaid Expenses and Other Assets Schedule of Prepaid Expenses (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Prepaid Expense and Other Assets [Abstract]
Customer and merchant incentives	$ 885	$ 778
Prepaid income taxes	192	51
Other	856	603
Total prepaid expenses and other current assets	$ 1,933	$ 1,432

Prepaid Expenses and Other Assets Schedule of Other Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Prepaid Expense and Other Assets [Abstract]
Customer and merchant incentives	$ 2,650	$ 2,458
Equity investments	757	337
Income taxes receivable	430	298
Other	253	210
Total other assets	$ 4,090	$ 3,303

Property, Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets - Summary (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Jan. 01, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets	$ 2,512		$ 1,768
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(1,020)		(847)
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	1,492	$ 1,296	921
Building, building equipment and land
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets	492		481
Equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets	1,155		987
Furniture and fixtures
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets	87		85
Leasehold improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets	265		215
Operating lease right-of-use assets
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets	$ 513		$ 0

Property, Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets - Operating Right-of-Use Assets and Operating Lease Liabilities (Details) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]
Property, equipment and right-of-use assets, net	$ 444
Other current liabilities	98
Other liabilities	$ 386

Property, Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Operating lease amortization expense	$ 26	$ 69
Weighted-average remaining lease term of operating leases	6 years 3 months 18 days	6 years 3 months 18 days
Weighted-average discount rate of operating leases (as a percent)	3.20%	3.20%
Operating leases not yet commenced	$ 285	$ 285
Consolidated rental expense for leased office space			$ 94
Consolidated lease expense for automobiles and equipment			$ 20
Minimum [Member]
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Term of operating leases not yet commenced	1 year	1 year
Maximum
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Term of operating leases not yet commenced	16 years	16 years

Property, Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets - Maturities of Operating Lease Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Operating Leases after Adoption of ASC Topic 842:
Remainder of 2019	$ 26
2020	99
2021	82
2022	76
2023	67
Thereafter	174
Total operating lease payments	524
Less: Interest	(40)
Present value of operating lease liabilities	$ 484
Operating Leases before Adoption of ASC Topic 842:
2019		$ 72
2020		75
2021		76
2022		68
2023		58
Thereafter		327
Total		$ 676

Accrued Expenses (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Accrued Liabilities, Current [Abstract]
Customer and merchant incentives	$ 3,480	$ 3,275
Personnel costs	576	744
Income and other taxes	462	158
Other	467	570
Total accrued expenses	$ 4,985	$ 4,747

Accrued Litigation Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Accrued Liabilities, Current [Abstract]
Provision for litigation	$ 938	$ 1,591

Debt - Schedule of Long-term Debt (Details) € in Millions	1 Months Ended
Debt - Schedule of Long-term Debt (Details) € in Millions	May 31, 2019 USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2018 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 EUR (€)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 7,804,000,000	$ 6,389,000,000
Less: Unamortized discount and debt issuance costs						(69,000,000)	(55,000,000)
Total debt outstanding						7,735,000,000	6,334,000,000
Less: Current portion						0	(500,000,000)
Long-term debt						$ 7,735,000,000	5,834,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2029 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount	$ 1,000,000,000.0
Stated Interest Rate						2.95%
Effective Interest Rate						3.03%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 1,000,000,000	0
Senior Notes \| 2049 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount	1,000,000,000
Stated Interest Rate						3.65%
Effective Interest Rate						3.689%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 1,000,000,000	0
Senior Notes \| 2019 USD Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount	2,000,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt	$ 1,980,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2028 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount		$ 500,000,000
Stated Interest Rate						3.50%
Effective Interest Rate						3.598%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 500,000,000	500,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2048 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount		500,000,000
Stated Interest Rate						3.95%
Effective Interest Rate						3.99%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 500,000,000	500,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2018 USD Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount		1,000,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt		$ 991,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2021 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount			$ 650,000,000
Stated Interest Rate						2.00%
Effective Interest Rate						2.236%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 650,000,000	650,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2026 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount			750,000,000
Stated Interest Rate						2.95%
Effective Interest Rate						3.044%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 750,000,000	750,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2046 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount			600,000,000
Stated Interest Rate						3.80%
Effective Interest Rate						3.893%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 600,000,000	600,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2016 USD Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount			2,000,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt			$ 1,969,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2022 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount \| €								€ 700
Stated Interest Rate						1.10%
Effective Interest Rate						1.265%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 765,000,000	801,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2027 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount \| €								800
Stated Interest Rate						2.10%
Effective Interest Rate						2.189%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 875,000,000	916,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2030 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount \| €								150
Stated Interest Rate						2.50%
Effective Interest Rate						2.562%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 164,000,000	172,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2015 Euro Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount \| €								€ 1,650
Proceeds from issuance of debt				$ 1,723,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2019 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount					$ 500,000,000
Stated Interest Rate						2.00%
Effective Interest Rate						2.178%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 0	500,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2024 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount					1,000,000,000
Stated Interest Rate						3.375%
Effective Interest Rate						3.484%
Long-term Debt, Gross						$ 1,000,000,000	$ 1,000,000,000
Senior Notes \| 2014 USD Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate Principal Amount					1,500,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt					$ 1,484,000,000

Debt - Narrative (Details) - Senior Notes € in Millions	1 Months Ended
Debt - Narrative (Details) - Senior Notes € in Millions	May 31, 2019 USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2018 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 EUR (€)
2029 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount	$ 1,000,000,000.0
2049 Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount	1,000,000,000
2019 USD Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount	2,000,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt	$ 1,980,000,000
2018 USD Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount		$ 1,000,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt		$ 991,000,000
2016 USD Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount			$ 2,000,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt			$ 1,969,000,000
2015 Euro Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount \| €						€ 1,650
Proceeds from issuance of debt				$ 1,723,000,000
2014 USD Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount					$ 1,500,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt					$ 1,484,000,000

Stockholders' Equity Repurchase Authorizations and Purchase Activity (Details) - Class A Common Stock - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	9 Months Ended		10 Months Ended	22 Months Ended	34 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Class of Stock
Board authorization	$ 14,500		$ 14,500	$ 14,500	$ 14,500
Dollar value of shares repurchased during period	5,503	$ 4,045
Remaining authorization	$ 1,298		1,298	1,298	$ 1,298	$ 6,801
Shares repurchased	22.8	21.8			70.0
Average price paid per share	$ 241.27	$ 185.64			$ 188.68
December 2018 Share Repurchase Plan
Class of Stock
Board authorization						6,500
Dollar value of shares repurchased during period	$ 5,202	$ 0
Remaining authorization	$ 1,298		$ 1,298	1,298	$ 1,298	6,500
Shares repurchased	21.2	0.0	21.2
Average price paid per share	$ 245.25	$ 0	$ 245.25
December 2017 Share Repurchase Plan
Class of Stock
Board authorization							$ 4,000
Dollar value of shares repurchased during period	$ 301	$ 2,811
Remaining authorization	$ 0		$ 0	$ 0	0	301
Shares repurchased	1.6	14.6		20.6
Average price paid per share	$ 188.38	$ 192.82		$ 194.27
December 2016 Share Repurchase Plan
Class of Stock
Board authorization								$ 4,000
Dollar value of shares repurchased during period	$ 0	$ 1,234
Remaining authorization	$ 0		$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Shares repurchased	0.0	7.2			28.2
Average price paid per share	$ 0	$ 171.11			$ 141.99

Stockholders' Equity Common Stock Shares Activity (Details) - shares shares in Millions	9 Months Ended		34 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019
Class A
Class of Stock
Purchases of treasury stock	(22.8)	(21.8)	(70.0)
Common Stock \| Class A
Class of Stock
Balance at December 31, 2018	1,018.6
Purchases of treasury stock	(22.8)
Share-based payments	2.8
Conversion of Class B to Class A common stock	0.3
Balance at September 30, 2019	998.9		998.9
Common Stock \| Class B
Class of Stock
Balance at December 31, 2018	11.8
Purchases of treasury stock	0.0
Share-based payments	0.0
Conversion of Class B to Class A common stock	(0.3)
Balance at September 30, 2019	11.5		11.5

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended						9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
AOCI Attributable to Parent, Net of Tax [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance, Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments			$ (661)			$ (382)	$ (661)	$ (382)
Beginning Balance, Translation Adjustments on Net Investment Hedge			(66)			(141)	(66)	(141)
Beginning Balance, Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans			10			25	10	25
Beginning Balance, Investment Securities Available-for-Sale			(1)			1	(1)	1
Beginning Balance, Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)			(718)			(497)	(718)	(497)
Current period other comprehensive income (loss), Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments	$ (184)			$ (38)			(204)	(224)
Current period other comprehensive income (loss), Translation Adjustments on Net Investment Hedge	56			1			62	54
Current period other comprehensive income (loss), Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans	0			0			(1)	(1)
Current period other comprehensive income (loss), Investment Securities Available-for-Sale	0			(1)			3	(2)
Current period other comprehensive income (loss)	(128)	$ (57)	$ 45	(38)	$ (259)	$ 124	(140)	(173)
Ending Balance, Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments	(865)			(606)			(865)	(606)
Ending Balance, Translation Adjustments on Net Investment Hedge	(4)			(87)			(4)	(87)
Ending Balance, Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans	9			24			9	24
Ending Balance, Investment Securities Available-for-Sale	2			(1)			2	(1)
Ending Balance, Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	$ (858)			$ (670)			$ (858)	$ (670)

Share-Based Payments Narrative (Details) shares in Millions	9 Months Ended
Share-Based Payments Narrative (Details) shares in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019 $ / shares shares
Share-Based Payments
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Grants in Period, Gross \| shares	0.9
Fair value of stock options, per share, estimated using a Black-Scholes option pricing model \| $ / shares	$ 53
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Requisite Service Period	1 year
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Fair Value Assumptions, Expected Term	6 years
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Fair Value Assumptions, Expected Volatility Rate	19.60%
Non-qualified stock options
Share-Based Payments
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period	4 years
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-based Payment Award Options Term	10 years
Restricted stock units
Share-Based Payments
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Grants in Period \| shares	0.9
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Grants in Period, Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value \| $ / shares	$ 225
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period	3 years
Performance stock units
Share-Based Payments
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Grants in Period \| shares	0.1
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Grants in Period, Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value \| $ / shares	$ 231
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period	3 years

Income Taxes (Details)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
Income Taxes (Details)	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Effective income tax rate (as a percent)	16.90%	16.10%	17.10%	17.20%

Legal and Regulatory Proceedings (Details) € in Millions, £ in Billions	1 Months Ended						3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		30 Months Ended	89 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2019 EUR (€)	Jul. 31, 2018 claimant	Jan. 31, 2017 claimant	Oct. 31, 2011 plaintiff	Feb. 28, 2011	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($) fax claimant	Sep. 30, 2019 GBP (£) fax claimant	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019 claimant	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 GBP (£)
Legal And Regulatory
Increase of qualified cash settlement fund								$ 108,000,000
Accrued litigation	$ 938,000,000						$ 938,000,000			$ 938,000,000			$ 1,591,000,000			$ 938,000,000
Provision for litigation							0		$ 29,000,000	$ 0		$ 371,000,000
Unsolicited faxes \| fax										381,000	381,000
Damages sought per fax (in usd per fax)										$ 500
Event Involving Visa Parties, Member Banks and Mastercard
Legal And Regulatory
Percent of settlement Mastercard would pay						12.00%
Event Involving Member Banks and Mastercard
Legal And Regulatory
Percent of settlement Mastercard would pay						36.00%
Canadian Competition Bureau
Legal And Regulatory
Amount of damages sought (that exceeds)										5,000,000,000
U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement
Legal And Regulatory
Accrued litigation	$ 920,000,000						$ 920,000,000			$ 920,000,000			915,000,000			$ 920,000,000
Canadian Merchant Litigation
Legal And Regulatory
Provision for litigation														$ 15,000,000
Maximum \| U.S. Merchant Litigation - Class Litigation
Legal And Regulatory
Percentage of merchant opt outs to terminate agreement	25.00%						25.00%			25.00%						25.00%
U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement
Legal And Regulatory
Provision for litigation													237,000,000
U.K. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement and Pan-European Merchant Litigation
Legal And Regulatory
Provision for litigation													237,000,000
European Commission
Legal And Regulatory
Provision for litigation													654,000,000
Payments for Legal Settlements \| €		€ 571
U.K. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement
Legal And Regulatory
Amount of damages sought (that exceeds)																$ 4,000,000,000	£ 3
Loss Contingency, Damages Resolved, Value																3,000,000,000	£ 2
U.K. Merchant claimants
Legal And Regulatory
Number of plaintiffs in case \| claimant				10
Proposed U.K. Interchange Collective Action
Legal And Regulatory
Amount of damages sought (that exceeds)										$ 17,000,000,000	£ 14
ATM Operators Complaint
Legal And Regulatory
Amount of damages sought (that exceeds)	$ 1,000,000,000
Number of plaintiffs in case \| plaintiff					13
Restricted cash for litigation settlement
Legal And Regulatory
Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents	$ 666,000,000						$ 666,000,000		$ 550,000,000	$ 666,000,000		$ 550,000,000	$ 553,000,000	$ 546,000,000		$ 666,000,000
Judicial Ruling \| 2017 U.K. Merchant Claimants
Legal And Regulatory
Number of claims settled \| claimant			3
Judicial Ruling \| 2017 U.K. Merchant Claimants \| Unfavorable Regulatory Action
Legal And Regulatory
Number of claims settled \| claimant			2
Judicial Ruling \| 2016 U.K. Merchant Claimants \| Unfavorable Regulatory Action
Legal And Regulatory
Number of claims settled \| claimant										1	1
Appealing judgment \| U.K. Merchant claimants
Legal And Regulatory
Number of claims settled \| claimant															3

Settlement and Other Risk Management Estimated Settlement Exposure and Portion of Uncollateralized Settlement Exposure for Mastercard-Branded Transactions (Details) - Guarantee Obligations - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Risks Inherent in Servicing Assets and Servicing Liabilities
Gross settlement exposure	$ 53,884	$ 49,666
Collateral held for settlement exposure	(4,503)	(4,711)
Net uncollateralized settlement exposure	$ 49,381	$ 44,955

Settlement and Other Risk Management Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Settlement and Other Risk Management [Abstract]
Travelers cheques outstanding, notional value	$ 366	$ 377
Travelers cheques covered by collateral arrangements	$ 289	$ 297

Foreign Exchange Risk Management Classification of Outstanding Forward Contracts (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Forward contracts to purchase and sell foreign currency - Balance sheet location - Accounts receivable/Prepaid expenses and other current assets	$ 30	$ 35
Other current liabilities
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Forward contracts to purchase and sell foreign currency - Balance sheet location - Other current liabilities	(21)	(6)
Commitments to purchase foreign currency \| Foreign Exchange Forward
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Commitments/Options to purchase/sell foreign currency, Notional	133	34
Commitments/Options to purchase/sell foreign currency, Estimated Fair Value	(5)	(1)
Commitments/Options to sell foreign currency \| Foreign Exchange Forward
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Commitments/Options to purchase/sell foreign currency, Notional	1,374	1,066
Commitments/Options to purchase/sell foreign currency, Estimated Fair Value	12	26
Commitments/Options to sell foreign currency \| Foreign Exchange Option
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Commitments/Options to purchase/sell foreign currency, Notional	21	25
Commitments/Options to purchase/sell foreign currency, Estimated Fair Value	$ 2	$ 4

Foreign Exchange Risk Management (Details) € in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 EUR (€)
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Terms of the foreign currency forward contracts and foreign currency option contracts, less than			18 months
Net foreign currency transaction pre-tax loss in AOCI	$ 40		$ 40
Foreign currency derivative contracts
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Approximate effect of 10% adverse change in foreign currency rates on fair value loss	138		138
General and administrative \| Foreign currency derivative contracts
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Gain (loss) for contracts to purchase and sell foreign currency	17	$ 13	(3)	$ 48
Net Investment Hedging
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Derivative Liability, Notional Amount \| €						€ 1,650
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets
Foreign Exchange Risk Management
Foreign Currency Derivative Instruments Not Designated as Hedging Instruments, Asset at Fair Value	$ 30		$ 30		$ 35