Mastercard, though American‑born, earns only 40% of its revenue outside the Americas and has a German CEO and an Indian CFO. Its Belgian chief product officer told investors the company remains a "guest" abroad.

Mastercard is now looking to sell a majority stake in Vocalink, the infrastructure behind the UK’s Faster Payments System. The likely buyer would be a consortium of British banks that bought Vocalink from Mastercard in 2016. The move reflects growing political pressure for "tech sovereignty" and worries that U.S. ownership could be weaponised.

The Bank of England wants a more modern payment system; Vocalink’s incumbency would normally give it an advantage, but regulators fear over‑reliance on U.S. tech. A sale would let Mastercard keep 49% of a business with a long‑term future, while still offering services like fraud detection.

Mastercard’s strategy mirrors Microsoft’s approach: keep the underlying rails locally owned but continue to sell software and services. This balance is seen as preferable to losing access altogether.