Mastercard’s Q2 2026 results outperform, propelled by value-added services and World Cup spending  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
Banking & Payments
AUGUST 4, 2026
What percentage of married and partnered couples combine their finances into joint accounts?
A) 32% B) 42% C) 52% D) 62%
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CREDIT CARDS
Mastercard’s Q2 2026 results outperform, propelled by value-added services and World Cup spending
Despite macroeconomic uncertainty, consumers demonstrated resilience. Mastercard reported strong Q2 2026 results, with net revenues rising 14% YoY to $9.3 billion.
Adjusted earnings of $5.04 a share topped the Zacks consensus estimate of $4.77.
Personal and commercial credit card spending rose from a year ago—continuing the rebound from Q1 2026 after softer growth in Q4 2025. Debit spending rose in the US and worldwide but at a slower rate from a year earlier, muted by Capital One’s debit transition to its Discover network completed in Q1 2026.
  • Mastercard’s worldwide credit and charge programs’ purchase volume grew 9.1% YoY, up from 8.1% the previous year.
  • US purchase volume growth rose to 9.7%, up more than 3 percentage points from 6.1% in Q2 2025.
  • Worldwide debit and prepaid program purchase volume growth slid to 10.2% YoY from 12.6% the prior year.
  • American debit and prepaid programs’ purchase volume growth fell to 2.6% from 7.2% in Q2 2025. Excluding Capital One, growth was 10%.
BANKING
Bank branches can drive customer acquisition for years after opening
Branches will play an "ever stronger role" in customer acquisition over the next five to 10 years, Adrenaline Chief Experience Officer Juliet D'Ambrosio told EMARKETER in an interview.
Her comments follow a new Curinos and Adrenaline report showing that US banks—led by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo—opened more than 1,000 new branches in each of the last three years, reversing a decade of consolidation. D'Ambrosio said those long-term investments mean today's branch expansion strategies are likely to influence customer acquisition for years.
The report demonstrates that national banks are expanding because branches remain powerful customer acquisition tools. D'Ambrosio argues that the strategy is being reinforced by changing consumer preferences.
CREDIT CARDS
Chase, Capital One take the lead in high-credit-quality card acquisitions
Issuers race to strengthen premium card offerings to capture affluent spenders. Chase and Capital One led new credit card account openings among adults with higher credit scores in Q2 2026, per JD Power.
  • Chase had a 17.4% share of new account openings among consumers with credit scores of 660+.
  • Capital One earned 14% share.
  • Citi ranked third with 8.8%.
REPORT
Banking Trends H2 2026
Financial relationships are more fragmented than ever in H2 2026, as AI, expanding financial ecosystems, and changing consumer behaviors shift how products are discovered and chosen.
What trends will impact banks’ product and marketing strategies in H2 2026?
Banks are still consumers’ primary deposit provider, but the relationship often ends there. More than half of consumers get their mortgage (57.1%) and investment account (61.4%) from another provider, per our October 2025 survey, making relationship expansion a bigger competitive challenge than deposit acquisition.
(EMARKETER subscription required to read the full report)
CHART OF THE WEEK
Key stat: Consumers are less bothered by the affordability of financial costs like loan payments (46%) and debt payments (45%) than everyday expenses such as gas (52%) and groceries (51%).