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1.0.0.3 false Obligations Under Litigation Settlements false 1 $ false false iso4217_USD Standard http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 0 iso4217_USD_per_shares Divide http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance shares 0 shares Standard http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance shares 0 5 Obligations Under Litigation Settlements 3 ma_LitigationSettlementsDisclosureTextBlock ma false na duration string Litigation Settlements Disclosure false false false false false false false false false 1 false false 0 0 <div> Note 19. Obligations Under Litigation Settlements On October 27, 2008, MasterCard and Visa Inc. (“Visa”) entered into a settlement agreement (the “Discover Settlement”) with Discover Financial Services, Inc. (“Discover”) relating to the U.S. federal antitrust litigation amongst the parties. The Discover Settlement ended all litigation among the parties for a total of $2,750,000. In July 2008, MasterCard and Visa had entered into a judgment sharing agreement that allocated responsibility for any judgment or settlement of the Discover action among the parties. Accordingly, the MasterCard share of the Discover Settlement was $862,500, which was paid to Discover in November 2008. In addition, in connection with the Discover Settlement, Morgan Stanley, Discover’s former parent company, paid MasterCard $35,000 in November 2008, pursuant to a separate agreement. The net impact of $827,500 is included in litigation settlements for the year ended December 31, 2008. On June 24, 2008, MasterCard entered into a settlement agreement (the “American Express Settlement”) with American Express Company (“American Express”) relating to the U.S. federal antitrust litigation between MasterCard and American Express. The American Express Settlement ended all existing litigation between MasterCard and American Express. Under the terms of the American Express Settlement, MasterCard is obligated to make 12 quarterly payments of up to $150,000 per quarter beginning in the third quarter of 2008. MasterCard’s maximum nominal payments will total $1,800,000. The amount of each quarterly payment is contingent on the performance of American Express’s U.S. Global Network Services business. The quarterly payments will be in an amount equal to 15% of American Express’s U.S. Global Network Services billings during the quarter, up to a maximum of $150,000 per quarter. If, however, the payment for any quarter is less than $150,000, the maximum payment for subsequent quarters will be increased by the difference between $150,000 and the lesser amount that was paid in any quarter in which there was a shortfall. MasterCard assumes American Express will achieve these financial hurdles. MasterCard recorded the present value of $1,800,000, at a 5.75% discount rate, or $1,649,345 for the year ended December 31, 2008. As of December 31, 2009, the Company has six quarterly payments for a total of $900,000 remaining. In 2003, MasterCard entered into a settlement agreement (the “U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement”) related to the U.S. merchant lawsuit described under the caption “U.S. Merchant and Consumer Litigations” in Note 21 (Legal and Regulatory Proceedings) and contract disputes with certain customers. Under the terms of the U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement, the Company was required to pay $125,000 in 2003 and $100,000 annually each December from 2004 through 2012. On July 1, 2009, MasterCard entered into an agreement (the “Prepayment Agreement”) with plaintiffs of the U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement whereby MasterCard agreed to make a prepayment of its remaining $400,000 in payment obligations at a discounted amount of $335,000 on September 30, 2009. The Company made the prepayment at the discounted amount of $335,000 on September 30, 2009, after the Prepayment Agreement became final. In addition, in 2003, several other lawsuits were initiated by merchants who opted not to participate in the plaintiff class in the U.S. merchant lawsuit. The “opt-out” merchant lawsuits were not covered by the terms of the U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement and all have been individually settled.   We recorded liabilities for these and certain litigation settlements in 2009 and prior years. Total liabilities for litigation settlements changed from December 31, 2007, as follows:   <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="84%" align="center" border="0"> <tr> <td width="85%"></td> <td valign="bottom" width="7%"></td> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#CCEEFF"> <td valign="top"> Balance as of December 31, 2007 </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom">$</td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">404,436</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> Provision for Discover Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">862,500</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#CCEEFF"> <td valign="top"> Provision for American Express Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">1,649,345</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> Provision for other litigation settlements </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">6,000</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#CCEEFF"> <td valign="top"> Interest accretion on U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">32,879</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> Interest accretion on American Express Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">44,300</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#CCEEFF"> <td valign="top"> Payments on American Express Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">(300,000</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">) </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> Payments on Discover Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">(862,500</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">) </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#CCEEFF"> <td valign="top"> Payment on U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">(100,000</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">) </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> Other payments and accretion </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">(662</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">) </td> </tr> <tr style="FONT-SIZE: 1px"> <td valign="bottom"></td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #000000 1px solid" valign="bottom">  </td> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #000000 1px solid" valign="bottom">  </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#CCEEFF"> <td valign="top"> Balance as of December 31, 2008 </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">1,736,298</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> Interest accretion on U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">20,506</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#CCEEFF"> <td valign="top"> Interest accretion on American Express Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">65,812</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> Payments on American Express Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">(600,000</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">) </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#CCEEFF"> <td valign="top"> Payment on U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">(335,000</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">) </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> Gain on prepayment of U.S. Merchant Lawsuit Settlement </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">(14,234</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">) </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#CCEEFF"> <td valign="top"> Other payments, accruals and accretion, net </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom"> </td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">(3,661</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">) </td> </tr> <tr style="FONT-SIZE: 1px"> <td valign="bottom"></td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #000000 1px solid" valign="bottom">  </td> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #000000 1px solid" valign="bottom">  </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> Balance as of December 31, 2009 </td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td valign="bottom">$</td> <td valign="bottom" align="right">869,721</td> <td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap">  </td> </tr> <tr style="FONT-SIZE: 1px"> <td valign="bottom"></td> <td valign="bottom">  </td> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #000000 3px double" valign="bottom">  </td> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #000000 3px double" valign="bottom">  </td> <td> </td> </tr> </table> See Note 21 (Legal and Regulatory Proceedings) for additional discussion regarding the Company’s legal proceedings. </div> Note 19. Obligations Under Litigation Settlements On October 27, 2008, MasterCard and Visa Inc. (“Visa”) entered into a settlement false false Litigation Settlements Disclosure No authoritative reference available. false false 1 1 false UnKnown UnKnown UnKnown false true