Venezuela's Hyperinflation Is Working Out Very Well for Mastercard

Venezuela’s economic collapse is driving factories out of business, leaving store shelves barren and wiping out workers’ purchasing power. MasterCard Inc. is doing just fine. Two powerful forces are pushing Venezuelans to rely increasingly on credit cards amid the chaos: runaway inflation and soaring crime. People are racing to spend their money as fast as they can, trying to keep ahead of consumer price increases that Bank of America Corp. estimates could almost reach 200 percent this year. Yet because that inflation surge has decimated the value of Venezuela’s money, shopping with cash would require carrying around a brick-sized wad of 100-bolivar bills -- not a great idea in a country with the world’s second-highest murder rate. More…