Mastercard Branding Requirements

Mastercard Symbol

The Mastercard Symbol is comprised of the Mastercard circles and associated trademark symbol ™ without the word "mastercard^®." The Symbol is used at merchant locations (physical, websites, and apps) to signal acceptance and in marketing materials to market and promote Mastercard products and services.

• The Symbol must be used in full color only. See color specifications.
• The Symbol must never be used in grayscale or other colors. (Instead, use the grayscale or solid Mastercard Brand Mark as noted in the next section.)
• Artwork is available for download and must not be altered.
• Download artwork for cards at mastercardconnect.com.

Note: When used to signify acceptance, the Symbol may also be referred to as an Acceptance Mark.

Mastercard Brand Mark

The Mastercard Brand Mark is comprised of the Mastercard circles and associated trademark symbol ™ and the word “mastercard” followed by a registered trademark symbol ®.

The grayscale and solid versions of the Mastercard Brand Mark are used in marketing materials when printing methods prohibit the use of the full-color Symbol artwork.

The Mastercard Brand Mark is available in both vertical and horizontal configurations. Use the one that best fits your needs.

• Grayscale and solid versions are available for use on white or light backgrounds (“positive”) and black or dark backgrounds (“reverse”). See color specifications.
• Grayscale and solid versions must never be used on card fronts.
• Artwork is available for download and must not be altered.
• Download artwork for acceptance and marketing here.
• Download artwork for cards at mastercardconnect.com.

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VERTICAL CONFIGURATION

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HORIZONTAL CONFIGURATION

Note: The ™ and / or ® trademark symbols (or other symbol required under local law) must be used. They should remain at the relative size provided in the authorized artwork files and be scaled proportionally with the marks even though their legibility may be compromised when the marks are at very small sizes or reproduced in certain media. The trademark symbols (or other symbol required under local law) must not be enlarged independently to increase legibility.

Decal stickers

• The decal sticker (also known as the “Acceptance Mark”) is comprised of the Mastercard Symbol on a specifically-sized black background.
• Decal stickers are physically printed signage used to signify acceptance at retail locations such as on door decals, card terminals, or ATMs.
• Decal stickers and other signage must not be printed in grayscale.
• Artwork is available for download and must not be altered.

Mastercard debit/débit and Mastercard credit & debit/crédit & débit

Alternate marks are available for merchants who want to underscore the specific products they accept at the point-of-sale/point-of-interaction: “debit” or “credit & debit”. These marks are for use by merchants in acceptance situations only. They should not be used to replace the Mastercard Symbol or Mastercard Brand Mark in marketing or other materials. These marks are available in English and French.

FOR USE ON PAYMENT PAGES OF WEBSITES AND IN APPS

FOR USE ON DECAL STICKERS

Not all configurations of Mastercard branding are available in all color versions.

• The Mastercard Symbol must be used in full-color only. When technical limitations prohibit the use of full-color, use the solid or grayscale Mastercard Brand Mark.
• On physical cards, the Mastercard Symbol must be printed in full-color match PANTONE^®* only. Refer to the Card Design Standards published on mastercardconnect.com
• The decal sticker is available in full-color only and must be reproduced in full-color match PANTONE only.
• Colors are built into the downloadable artwork files and must not be altered.

COLOR

GRAYSCALE AND SOLID

To ensure legibility of Mastercard branding, never use the logos at sizes smaller than the minimum size requirements.

Mastercard branding must appear in an uncluttered space free from text and other graphics.

• Surround the Mastercard Symbol with clear space of at least 1/4 the width of one of the circles within the Symbol.

Sufficient contrast between the background and the Mastercard branding is required.

Lettercase

When referencing Mastercard^® in text, use an uppercase “M” and lowercase “c” with no space between “Master” and “card”. The name must not appear with a capital “C”. Mastercard should appear in the same font as its surrounding text. The name must not be modified in any way. The name may appear in all uppercase letters only if the font style of the user interface or communication also appears in all uppercase letters.

Registered trademark symbol (^®)

Read-through

Mastercard branding may be used as a read-through in a headline, but may not be used as a read-through in the body of a communication. When used in text, it must be set in the same typeface as the surrounding text.

Trademark attribution notice

Translations

Parity

Note: As used on brand.mastercard.com, an access mark is any name, logo, sound, haptic, visual depiction, trade name, logotype, trademark, service mark, trade designation, and/or other designation, symbol or mark not licensed by Mastercard, that identifies a service through which a Mastercard, Maestro, or Cirrus account can be accessed and/or accepted for a Mastercard, Maestro, or Cirrus transaction.

All Mastercard^® branding, including the decal stickers, must be displayed at the point of interaction where payment options and/or access marks are presented.

At the point of interaction, Mastercard branding must be displayed at parity (in terms of size, frequency, color treatment, and location) with all other acceptance marks displayed, with Mastercard preferably in the first position.

At the point of interaction, Mastercard branding, including the decal stickers, must be afforded similar prominence to any access mark displayed (characteristics to consider for similar prominence, include size, frequency, color treatment, and co-location within the same field of vision), except in the e-commerce environment as follows. In a digital environment, when displaying an access mark checkout option, Mastercard branding is not required to be displayed if (1) the cardholder can readily navigate from the screen displaying the access mark checkout option to a screen displaying a checkout option where the Mastercard branding is appropriately displayed or (2) Mastercard branding is appropriately displayed prior to payment confirmation, when use of an access mark checkout option is the only available checkout option. Access mark marketing materials (i.e., promotional signage, checkout lane dividers, etc.) are not required to include Mastercard branding.

Illustrative, but not exhaustive, examples of compliant displays follow.

General

Note: All point of interaction (POI) locations that accept Mastercard must display a Mastercard Mark at parity (in terms of size, frequency, color treatment and location) with all other acceptance marks (with the exception of Mastercard POI locations in the U.S., where a specific regional Standard that permits otherwise exists. Refer to Mastercard Rules, Rule 5.11.1 “Discrimination” of Chapter 16, “Additional U.S. Region and U.S. Territory Rules”).

Note: Gray boxes in the examples of displays represent a payment option or access mark, as applicable. As used on brand.mastercard.com, an access mark is any name, logo, sound, haptic, visual depiction, trade name, logotype, trademark, service mark, trade designation, and/or other designation, symbol or mark not licensed by Mastercard, that identifies a service through which a Mastercard, Maestro, or Cirrus account can be accessed and/or accepted for a Mastercard, Maestro, or Cirrus transaction.

Use at physical merchant locations

For complete information, refer to Use at physical merchant locations.

Use at digital merchant locations

For complete information, refer to Signaling digital payment acceptance.

Mastercard family of brands
When more than one Mastercard brand is accepted, display the marks horizontally or vertically in the approved sequence:

1. Mastercard^®
2. Maestro^®
3. Cirrus^®

Refer to the Other Marks section for artwork and requirements.

Refer to the Other Marks section for artwork and requirements.

Note: Beginning 1 November 2018, the full-color Mastercard Brand Mark without the word “mastercard^®” is featured on cards. This Mastercard Symbol branding is required on all physical cards manufactured on or after 1 July 2020.

Refer to the Card Design Standards published on mastercardconnect.com

Note: Mastercard Symbol branding is required on all physical cards manufactured after 1 July 2020.

All use of card images in marketing materials must comply with the requirements specified in the Card Design Standards manual published on mastercardconnect.com, and the requirements below:

• The card image must include Mastercard branding on the card front in compliance with the Card Design Standards in full-color and at the exact size as it would appear on the actual card plastic.
• The entire card front (including the entire Mastercard branding) must be fully visible, clear, and legible.
• The display of account information is optional. If included, the account information (the Primary Account Number (PAN), the effective date and/or expiration date, and the cardholder name) and all card face design requirements must be in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Card Design Standards.
• When a cardholder name is present on the card image, the issuer must use the name M. Molina in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region or the name Lee M. Cardholder or John M. Cardholder in all other Regions.
• When a PAN is present on the card image:
  • For Mastercard cards, either a bank identification number (BIN) assigned to the issuer by Mastercard or 541275 or 222100 followed by any combination of digits up to 16 digits must be present on the card image.
  • For Maestro cards, either a BIN assigned to the issuer by Mastercard or 012345 followed by any combination of digits up to 16 digits must be present on the card image.
• Card images must be present at a size that is clear and legible.
• When a card image is not present, or the issuer name/logo does not appear on the card image, the following statement must appear on the marketing material in a location chosen by the issuer: “This card is issued by [Full Issuer Name] pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated.”
• Mastercard cards must be depicted at parity (in terms of size, frequency, color treatment, and location) with all cards depicted in the same communication. Refer to Using with other payment options and access marks.

Illustrative examples of compliant displays follows.








Illustrative examples of non-compliant card images follows.





• The full Mastercard or Maestro program name must be used in the first occurrence (e.g., World Elite Mastercard^®), and may also include the name of the issuer or co-brand partner and/or associated program names (e.g., [Issuer Name] [Co-brand partner name] [Issuer and/or Mastercard program name]).
• After the first occurrence, the full Mastercard or Maestro program name may be abbreviated to “Mastercard” or the issuer or co-brand partner name (e.g., [Issuer Name] “Mastercard^®”) in subsequent occurrences within the same communication, and must appear in the same font as the surrounding text.
• The word “card” must not be a part of a card program name (e.g., World Elite Mastercard^® is correct and World Elite Mastercard^® Card is not correct). However, when you are referring to the “card” in marketing materials, the word “card” is recommended to be included (e.g., “Your World Elite Mastercard card has a host of benefits.” or “Your World Elite Mastercard has a host of benefits.”).
• Mastercard-provided program identifier artwork used on cards (as defined in the Card Design Standards) must not be used in marketing materials except when being displayed on a card image.

For complete information on using the Mastercard brand in digital payments, refer to the Use in digital payments section of the Mastercard Branding Requirements on the Global Mastercard Brand Center.

All ATM locations must display the appropriate decal sticker for the brands which are accepted on or near the main entrance. Mastercard branding may also appear on ATM screens.

Decal stickers must be:

• Clearly visible on or near the cash machine and must not appear only on the ATM screen.
• Displayed horizontally or vertically following the approved sequence: Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, along with other payment options or access marks displayed.
• Displayed at parity (in terms of size, frequency, color treatment, and location) with all other acceptance marks displayed.
• Displayed with similar prominence to any access mark displayed (characteristics to consider for similar prominence, include size, frequency, color treatment, and co-location within the same field of vision).

The Mastercard Checkout Sound and Animation may be played and/or displayed on the ATM screen as a form of confirmation. Please contact your Mastercard representative or contact us for more information.

Illustrative, but not exhaustive, examples of compliant and non compliant displays follow.

Note: Non-compliant examples become compliant when Mastercard branding is added to the display in compliance with Using with other payment options and access marks* (e.g., (1) with acceptance marks, adding Mastercard, Maestro, and/or Cirrus branding at parity with size, frequency, color treatment, location, and prominence equal to that of all other acceptance marks and (2) with access marks, adding Mastercard, Maestro, and/or Cirrus branding with similar prominence to any access mark displayed (characteristics to consider for similar prominence, include size, frequency, color treatment, and co-location within the same field of vision)).

Note: Gray boxes in the examples of displays represent a payment option or access mark, as applicable. As used on brand.mastercard.com, an access mark is any name, logo, sound, haptic, visual depiction, trade name, logotype, trademark, service mark, trade designation, and/or other designation, symbol or mark not licensed by Mastercard, that identifies a service through which a Mastercard, Maestro, or Cirrus account can be accessed and/or accepted for a Mastercard, Maestro, or Cirrus transaction.

^*With the exception of Mastercard in the U.S. Region and U.S. Territories, where a specific regional Standard that permits otherwise exists. Refer to Mastercard Rules, Rule 5.11.1 “Discrimination” of Chapter 16, “Additional U.S. Region and U.S. Territory Rules”.

For complete information on using the Mastercard brand on contactless devices, refer to Use in contactless payments section of the Mastercard Branding Requirements on the Global Mastercard Brand Center.

Consistent presentation of Mastercard^® branding benefits issuers, acquirers, and merchants, by promoting consumer recognition and card use that builds business. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

Do not recolor the Symbol.

Do not outline the Symbol.

Do not display or reproduce at insufficient resolution or size.

Do not create a grayscale decal sticker or Symbol.

Do not position the word “mastercard^®” within the circles.

Do not use the grayscale or solid Symbol without the word “mastercard^®”.

Do not use a grayscale or solid mark on card fronts.