Mastercard

The U.K. Supreme Court has rejected Mastercard’s attempt to force individual lawsuits over claims the card brand overcharged consumers and negatively impacted competition for more than a decade.

The response exceeded expectations, with more than 1,600 Citi customers requesting a name-change on their cards within the first few weeks of the program.

Citigroup is now the third, and largest, U.S. financial institution to offer the Mastercard True Name feature, which lets customers use their preferred name, rather than their legal name, on credit and debit cards. The cards are targeted specifically for transgender and nonbinary people, who often face outsized financial hardship.

Visa and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are in the middle of a 10-year merchant services agreement that gives Chase merchants certain advantages with the expected goal of favoring Visa card volume. But it’s not an exclusive arrangement.

Major payment companies have long looked on at cryptocurrencies as too risky to touch, but too tempting to ignore. Mastercard's latest move indicates that the card brands are ready to make a firm pitch for crypto spending.