Step 1 : Introduction to the question "Interbank was the original name of which major financial services company?"
...Mastercard traces its origins back to 1966, when it was founded as the Interbank Card Association, a cooperative formed by several regional banks to compete with BankAmericard (which later became Visa). The organization introduced the Master Charge card, and in 1979 adopted the name Mastercard, reflecting its evolution into a global payment network. Today, Mastercard operates one of the world’s largest financial transaction processing systems, connecting consumers, banks, and merchants across more than 200 countries and territories.
