Mastercard is betting customers will know the company by its shiny interlocking circles.
The credit-card network and financial-services firm announced on Monday that it would drop the word "Mastercard" from its logo. It will appear only as two intersecting circles of red and yellow, with orange in the middle, on payment cards and sponsorships, and in stores where the card is accepted.
It's the latest change for the company's constantly evolving logo. Its name used to be featured in the middle of the circles, and in the iteration before this one it was underneath them in a sans-serif font.
It also reflects a changing landscape in payments. Customers are increasingly paying without a physical swipe or insert, but by inserting payment details or swiping a phone — and the word "card" might feel a little old-fashioned.
"As the consumer and commerce landscape continues to evolve, the Mastercard Symbol represents Mastercard better than one word ever could, and the flexible modern design will allow it to work seamlessly across the digital landscape," the company said in a press release.
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The company also increasingly wants to be seen as a financial-tech firm instead of only a credit-card network. In the release announcing the logo change, Mastercard called itself a "digital payment company."
The change could make Mastercard one of the few companies that can be widely identified by a wordless logo, such as Nike and Apple.
