LONDON Mastercard and Europay, the privately owned credit and debit card networks, have agreed the outlines of a merger designed to bolster Mastercard's position against arch-rival Visa, AFP quoted the ****Financial Times**** reporting Monday.

Under the all-share proposal, the European banks that control Europay are expected to be offered new shares representing between a quarter and a third of Mastercard, which will remain based in New York, the report said.

If the deal is approved by shareholders it will create the world's largest debit card network and be second to visa in credit cards.