By PYMNTS | October 21, 2026
Mastercard introduced an artificial intelligence assistant designed to help cardholders discover, understand and use the benefits offered by the cards they carry, the company said in a Wednesday (Oct. 21) press release.
Dubbed “Mastercard Max,” the AI assistant can be delivered to cardholders through the issuer’s direct channels, such as mobile banking applications or existing AI assistants. It is available to issuers around the world, according to the release.
Mastercard manages the agent models, content and orchestration that power the Mastercard Max experience, so issuers can deliver an intelligent benefits assistant without having to build and maintain one themselves, the release said.
Once issuers embed Mastercard Max into their digital channels, cardholders can access the assistant alongside the banking and card services they already use, per the release.
Powered by conversational AI and benefit content from both Mastercard and the issuer, Mastercard Max can answer cardholders’ questions about their benefits and deliver guidance on what their card offers, the release said.
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For example, Mastercard Max can identify the card’s travel benefits as the cardholder is booking travel, remind them about airport lounge access or Fast Track services as they’re on their way to the airport, and highlight eligible dining, entertainment and other experiences once they arrive at their destination, per the release.
“Mastercard Max unlocks more value for cardholders from the benefits they already have while helping issuers [turn] everyday spend into deeper relationships,” Mastercard Chief Consumer Product Officer Bunita Sawhney said in the release.
The first issuer to launch Mastercard Max is Brazilian digital bank C6 Bank, according to the release.
“At C6 Bank, we already use artificial intelligence to simplify customer experience, with AI agents each performing a specialized and specific function,” Gustavo Torres, head of innovation at C6 Bank, said in the release. “Mastercard Max will be integrated into this experience to answer questions and help cardholders find the most relevant benefits when they matter most, at home or abroad.”
The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Beyond Points and Perks: How Relevant Benefits Drive Cardholder Engagement” found in January 2025 that 55% of cardholders who reported that it’s easy to redeem rewards actively use most or all of the benefits that are available to them.
Another PYMNTS Intelligence report, “How Consumers Decide Which Card to Pay With,” found in May 2025 that premium reward offerings are more likely than cash referral bonuses to prompt a cardholder to recommend their card to others.
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