Kaching, kaching, that’s the sound of the Mastercard lobbyists’ coffers engorging. The credit card company spent nearly a million dollars in the 4th quarter to lobby Congress critters, the AP reports. By comparison, they spent only $680,000 in the 3rd quarter, and $510,000 in Q4 2008. Among the issues of keen interest to the big orange and yellow interlocking circle: overdraft fees, banking reform, interchange fees, issuer practices, and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The good thing about being Mastercard is that you can just charge all your lobbying expenditures.

MasterCard spends $960,000 in 4Q to lobby Congress [AP via LowCards]

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