MasterCard kicked off its renewal of its worldwide partnership with Ruby World Cup with an appearance by New Zealand rugby star Dan Carter.
Carter, the world’s leading points scorer, fine-tuned his skills by kicking at London’s biggest set of rugby posts, the Tower Bridge.
MasterCard will be the preferred card and official payment system of the tournament, which takes place in England and Wales between Sept. 18 and Oct. 31.
MasterCard first partnered with Rugby World Cup Limited in 2011.
“Rugby World Cup is a truly priceless event for rugby fans around the world and we are looking forward to developing ways that we can bring this partnership to life for our cardholders and partners in 2015,” says Ann Cairns, president of international markets of MasterCard Worldwide, in a statement.
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As part of the agreement, MasterCard secures a comprehensive rights and benefits package that allows the company to deliver value to customer financial institutions, merchants and cardholders, including the ability to access “Priceless” experiences linked to Rugby World Cup 2015.
The financial services company employs a similar strategy vis a vis its partnership with the Professional Golf Association Tour, now in its 11th year.
MasterCard gives social media cardholders, chosen randomly, access to golf courses across the country, PGA Tour events and experiences with top golf professionals. Also, MasterCard cardholders attending the certain tournaments will have exclusive access to the MasterCard Club and Concierge on-site at the events.