"MasterCard Nearby offers a new way for issuers, merchants and consumers to communicate and strengthen relationships with one another. It also delivers heightened convenience to busy MasterCard cardholders on the go," says Tatiana Mulry, vice president, Mobile / Wireless Center of Excellence, MasterCard Worldwide. "As this is an opt-in program, we are able to tailor it to the needs of individual cardholders. The more they ask for, the more MasterCard Nearby can deliver. We are also actively working with issuers and merchants to develop customized versions of MasterCard Nearby."

The MasterCard Nearby site is accessible from any compatible web-enabled mobile phone. Interested consumers merely need to use their computer to access www.mcnearby.com, identify themselves as MasterCard cardholders, and then create a unique user profile. Sign-up and profile management are simple and intuitive processes.

This service was developed in partnership with go2, a mobile, local search and content network. MasterCard Nearby users will be able to access the information they deem vital; that information can then be viewed on the mobile Internet or delivered to their mobile phones via an SMS text message. Ongoing access is then available directly on the phone. Once consumers log into the WAP (mobile web) site at wap.mcnearby.com for the first time, they are permanently logged into the service.

"Consumers have the ability to search for ATMs and merchant locations in the U.S. as well as ATMs in several countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Cardholders have come to expect a wide variety of services, rewards and offers when using their MasterCard payment cards, and we want to translate that experience to the mobile phone environment," adds Mulry.

"Having operated as one of the most widely used mobile, local search and content networks in the U.S. for several years, go2 is keenly aware of the growing consumer demand for timely and relevant information over mobile phones," says Lee Hancock, founder and chief executive officer of go2. "MasterCard recognised this demand and need in the mobile market, and go2 is delighted to be partnering with MasterCard to leverage its incredible resources and vision to bring additional value and appeal to MasterCard's cardholders, issuers and merchant partners. We believe MasterCard Nearby may evolve into one of the most valuable and useful services available over mobile phones."