Mastercard Unveils On-Demand Decisioning Tool for Smart Authorizations

Mastercard Incorporated MA is expanding its innovative strategy with the launch of its new customizable decisioning solution, On-Demand Decisioning (ODD). This tool, introduced at the company’s global RiskX summit in Rome, gives financial institutions more control over how they evaluate and approve transactions.

ODD empowers issuers to set and manage their decision-making criteria right within the MA network. By leveraging a customizable rules engine, financial institutions can streamline their business logic and policies, enabling quick approvals or declines that align with their customer strategies. It is positioned as a significant advancement in striking a balance between efficiency, security and customer experience.

ODD will be available worldwide (apart from India) by Oct. 1, 2025, reflecting MA’s dedication to promoting smarter and customized digital payments. This innovation highlights the company’s efforts to enhance its role in securing and optimizing financial transactions around the globe, which may support long-term growth beyond transaction volumes. The company’s net revenues increased 16% year over year in the first half of 2025, driven by growth in value-added services and solutions, and the payments network.

For MA, this shift reinforces its strategy of being more than just a payments network. By offering customizable risk tools, the company strengthens its ties with issuers and fintech partners while gaining a competitive edge in a crowded market where competitors and new digital players are investing heavily in AI-driven security.

How Are Competitors Faring?

Some of MA’s competitors adopting AI to improve operations include Visa Inc. V and PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL.

Beyond just processing payments, Visa provides value-added services like data analytics, fraud prevention, tokenization and loyalty programs. Visa integrates AI to optimize risk models, personalize offers and identify fraud in real-time.

PayPal is actively integrating AI to enhance various aspects of its platform, making everything from checkout processes smoother to creating more dynamic workflows for developers. These AI-driven tools reflect PayPal’s commitment to boosting efficiency, tailoring interactions and enhancing security for both businesses and consumers.

Mastercard’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

In the year-to-date period, MA’s shares have gained 10.9% compared with the industry’s rise of 2.8%.

From a valuation standpoint, MA trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, above the industry average of 21.74. MA carries a Value Score of D.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mastercard’s 2025 earnings implies 11.7% growth from the year-ago period.

Mastercard currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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