How is a truly gifted Coder (as in programmers, designers and developers) distinguished today?

For thousands of years, master artisans were honored with an insignia in recognition of their talent. A distinct object such as a pin or hat established their dominance in a field. “Coders”, as we define them here, have become the world’s newest artisans. Just as master builders were essential for the creation of a business 400 years ago, Coders are needed for everything from website creation to server maintenance and developing new in-house platforms.

Yet there is no identifying seal showcasing the quality of Coders, their rank amongst peers or even their trials and accomplishments.

Enter the MasterCard Masters of Code Competition. Through this intense series of hackathons we have one goal: to traverse the globe and engage the very best Coders. Each regional hackathon will have developers, designers and entrepreneurs using the MasterCard APIs to create masterful prototypes that demonstrate artful coding and design skills, while articulating clear business cases.

The competition will be intense and the tension high, but we are looking to create a different experience for our participants. Each event will be held in one of the most thriving tech communities worldwide – and at the best venues there. Winners from each region will be flown out for the Grand Finale Masters of Code Hackathon in Silicon Valley to experience a MasterCard Priceless Experience – Northern California. The final itself will be just like the regionals with up to ten teams from the region events and one MasterCard elite team of coders.

The winning team will be recognized as the first Masters of Code Champion and given their Masters of Code Jackets, $100,000 and many other perks.

Only the global winning team will be given this honor and privilege.