Bank switches debit cards to MasterCard

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Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005 | 9:23 a.m.

NEW YORK -- MasterCard International Inc. has snatched Washington Mutual Inc.'s $20 billion annual debit-card business away from rival Visa USA Inc., in a deal that underscores the importance of the fast-growing payment method.

Terms and the length of the multiyear contract were not disclosed Wednesday.

Washington Mutual is the nation's third-largest issuer of debit cards, after Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. Both companies have relationships with Visa.

Seattle-based Washington Mutual has 10.5 million debit cards in circulation, and has issued them through Visa for more than a decade.