Chief Financial Officer, Mastercard
Search every verified Sachin Mehra interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In August 2022, Mastercard CFO Sachin Mehra discussed the company's resilience in a potential recession, stating that consumers typically shift from discretionary to non-discretionary spending, but the payment rails for debit and credit remain unchanged. He highlighted Mastercard's expansion into B2B payments, a market he said is expected to reach $25 trillion, and described the company as being in a "build phase" to establish an open-loop environment for accounts payable. Mehra noted that Mastercard's services segment, including data insights and fraud capabilities, accounts for roughly 35% of revenues, and said the company maintains a healthy leverage ratio to fund strategic acquisitions. Mehra also addressed the broader shift toward a cashless society, citing pandemic-driven acceleration in contactless payments and the conversion of small-ticket cash transactions. He described Mastercard's role in the crypto ecosystem as an "on-ramp" for everyday transactions, emphasizing stability and regulation. On capital allocation, Mehra said the company prioritizes business growth through strategic investments, share buybacks, and dividends, and advised CFOs to stay calm, communicate clearly, and focus on strategy beyond financial fundamentals.
“The first thing that typically happens if you're going into a recessionary environment is people tend to pull back on discretionary categories of spend; they move into the non-discretionary categories of spend — they pivot into food, they pivot into rent — those kind of payments which are most important for them to mee...”
“The rails which run debit and credit are exactly the same — the technology is the same, the distribution models the same — so those areas don't necessarily change by virtue of moving into more of a debit or credit environment.”
“One area that Mastercard has been moving vigorously into is B2B payments — a market expected to reach $25 trillion by the end of the decade; we think there's tremendous promise in the B2B area.”
“The card business elements of the B2B space are doing very well — in the small business space, in the mid-market, it's in the large corporate space — all of them do really well on the accounts payable side.”
“I would say we're in the build phase — we're about building an open-loop environment to enable payments on accounts payable rails; the global standard is Mastercard in consumer payments, but that isn't quite established yet in B2B.”
“I'm going to see an explosion of creativity — a lot of other companies coming in and using those rails, innovating on top of them and pursuing new opportunities.”
“What we call services — which includes data insights, consulting, managed services, loyalty and our fraud capabilities — is roughly 35% of the revenues of this company.”
“From a balance sheet perspective, Mastercard has maintained a healthy leverage ratio even as it's put more resources into acquisitions and taken on more debt, giving the company flexibility to continue investing.”
“For me it always starts: what are we trying to accomplish from a strategy standpoint, what are our inherent capabilities, what are the gaps — for those gaps is it best to build, buy or partner — and then we talk to shareholders and investors to explain what we're doing and why it's good.”
“There's an old saying in finance that cash is king but when it comes to payments the data suggests that's no longer exactly the case. We are moving towards a cashless society and new technology is promised to kick these trends into a higher gear.”
“The key to being successful in this environment is to have a diversified portfolio. You've got to be nimble from an expense standpoint and disciplined as a finance officer.”
“MasterCard's core business is no surprise. Cards credit products currently account for over half the company's revenue. We are committed to expanding this core and diversifying beyond it.”
“Contrary to perceptions, I think the payments industry will be quite resilient in a downturn. Even during a recession, consumer spending continues to grow, especially in non-discretionary categories.”
“MasterCard is moving vigorously into B2B payments, a market expected to reach 25 trillion dollars by the end of the decade. This includes small business, mid-market, and large corporate sectors.”
“MasterCard has maintained a healthy leverage ratio even as it invests in acquisitions and takes on more debt. Our approach is strategic, focusing on what we want to accomplish and filling capability gaps.”
Mastercard CFO Sachin Mehra explains why a possible recession shouldn't hurt the company's core consumer payments business. He speaks with Lisa Abramowicz on Bloomberg Chief Future Officer. (Corrects full screen graphic)
Chief Financial Officers now play a critical role in shaping corporate strategy and positioning organizations to meet future challenges. Bloomberg's monthly program, Chief Future Officer, profiles these leaders and explores the impact they're making on their companies and industries. This episode focuses on Mastercard CFO Sachin Mehra, who tells Lisa Abramowicz how the company is diversifying around its core card business to expand in B2B payments, develop high-growth financial services, and offer solutions in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. -------- Follow Bloomberg for business news & analysi…
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