Mastercard reviews

4.1

82% would recommend to a friend

(7,698 total reviews)
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Michael Miebach

87% approve of CEO

81% positive business outlook

Mastercard has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 7,698 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Mastercard employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

8K reviews
1.0
Sep 3, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible work environment. Outside US, generous superannuation plan.

Cons

Almost all MasterCard managers are solely interested in managing their internal image and reputation. They do this to the detriment of their reportees’ wellbeing and progress. I have seen this constantly demonstrated in Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and North America. No matter what your real value or contribution, if it is not a benefit to your manager or if you do not have a white knight to sponsor you, you will never progress. CEO Ajay Banga proclaims “take thoughtful risks”, however, I warn you, you will do so at your own peril. What he really means is, “make decisions only if your manager signs off on it”. While Ajay may publicly want an environment in which thoughtful risk-taking and decision-making is encouraged, his managers do the opposite. MasterCard is a den of fear and retaliation and only a place for people who put up and shut up for the sake of job security. Despite its CEO’s public and internal propaganda, MasterCard is backward and cultish and will never excel unless it removes its managerial overlords and employs managers who care about other employees and the company.

1.0
Nov 28, 2018

Do Not Work Here

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are no pros here

Cons

Don’t expect a promotion, management does not care, people are hired with no experience for VP positions and the lower level workers are the ones with the experience and make the VP levels shine, people take credit for the work you did, low pay, health insurance is horrible and costly, time off is less than industry average, loyalty gets you nowhere except snubbed and passed over, managers catered to the people they hired and make sure they get taken care of, morale is at all time low.

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Mastercard Response
7y
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. I'm sorry to hear of your experience. Our promotion process is not based on personal relationships, or on the sole feedback of your manager. We have a holistic approach to promotion and incorporate peer feedback as well. If you have experienced anything counter to this, I would encourage you to raise these concerns via the ethics helpline or your HRBP. We also offer competitive benefits, several weeks of paid time off, and 5 volunteer days to dedicate to a community service of your choice.
1.0
Sep 28, 2019

Extremely toxic environment

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Higher than average salary packages.

Cons

High concentration of workplace psychopaths—especially from the Director level up. These are narcissistic people who have no regard for others, and no moral compunction about destroying the reputation or career of those they view as threats (people with actual talent, for instance). In this, they have the help of an HR system that reinforces the passive-aggressive culture and works like the modern version of a witch trial. No evidence required, no consequences for false reports, anonymous. So no one trusts anyone, and people generally avoid forming friendships. I have known several colleagues, male and female, who have fallen victim to this. One female coworker shared her experience: “This is what MasterCard does—they want to break you, make you compliant, control through fear.” If that sounds cynical, realize that in a true meritocracy, those who achieve power through lies and manipulation can’t compete fairly. And to maintain that control they need lieutenants who play the same game. The annual bonus structure places an undue emphasis on quick wins, at the expense of long term operational health or capability maturity, and this manifests itself in a high level of customer dissatisfaction. It also leads internally to scapegoating of teams that are working on long term improvements, and frequent interference from glory seekers looking to claim any improvements as their own, for sake of a bonus. The glory seeking psychopaths have work-life balance—they spend their days sending emails, demanding meetings, and inventing crises. The producers do not—they get to spend their days in meetings and their nights and weekends working. Because of the company’s wealth, there are also a high percentage of chair-warmers, who do just enough to keep from getting fired, and who sabotage any innovation that would require them to build their skills. If you enjoy your work, and you like to be a hands-on person doing new and exciting things, avoid this place like the Plague.

Viewing 4 - 6 of 7,698 Reviews

Glassdoor has 9,383 Mastercard reviews submitted anonymously by Mastercard employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Mastercard is right for you.