PURCHASE, N.Y. — MasterCard International says that its online debit activity, which includes MasterCard's online debit program, Maestro, and MasterCard's ATM-only brand, Cirrus, continued to show year-on-year growth for the three month period ending June 30.

As of June 30, the Maestro brand mark appeared on more than 545 million cards worldwide, a 10.2 percent increase over the same quarter in 2003. Cards bearing the Maestro brand could be used to withdraw cash from more than 900,000 ATMs as well as to make purchases at more than 7 million Maestro merchant locations worldwide.

Europe continued to be the largest cardholder base for Maestro with 253.1 million cards, a 10.2 percent increase over the same period in 2003. Gross Domestic Volume (GDV) for online debit activity in the region for 2004's first quarter was $274 billion, with purchase volume at $92.1 billion. Purchase transactions for the second quarter of 2004 totaled 1.4 billion.

In the United Kingdom, conversion of Switch, the UK's domestic debit brand, to Maestro continues ahead of schedule with the issuance of Maestro-only cards planned from July 1, 2004. Some 676 million Switch/Maestro transactions were processed so far in 2004, also surpassing expectations.

There were 148.2 million Maestro cards issued in Asia/Pacific. Gross Dollar Volume (GDV) for online debit activity in the region for the second quarter of 2004 was $34.2 billion, with purchase volume at $6.7 billion. Purchase transactions for the second quarter of 2004 totaled 140.2 million.

In Latin America, Maestro card numbers grew by 35.8 percent to 72.3 million cards in 2004's second quarter, compared to the same quarter in 2003. GDV for online debit activity in the region for the second quarter of 2004 was $10.4 billion, with purchase volume at $1.7 billion. Purchase transactions for the second quarter of 2004 totaled 87.1 million.

Cards issued in the South Asia, Middle East and Africa region also grew 39.5 percent to 24.6 million cards at the end of 2004's second quarter of 2004. GDV for online debit activity in the region was $16 billion, with purchase volume at $1.3 billion. Purchase transactions for the second quarter of 2004 totaled 16 million.

In the United States, MasterCard said Maestro-processed purchase and transaction volumes surpassed all-time second quarter highs, with transactions growing 92 percent during the first six months of 2004. New acquirer and major merchant direct connections to the MasterCard Debit Switch and Maestro issuer decisions to designate the MDS as their preferred routing channel for online debit transactions fueled the increases.

MasterCard reached an agreement with the Armed Forces Financial Network (AFFN) to allow AFFN-branded cards access to the global Maestro point-of-sale and Cirrus ATM networks.