PURCHASE, New York (AP) — MasterCard said yesterday its fourth-quarter profit jumped 23 percent as the company raised its fees to offset fading credit card use in the US.

Yet MasterCard's performance paled in comparison with its rival, Visa, which is better positioned to handle a huge shift in consumer behaviour as shoppers put away credit cards to save money.

Shares of MasterCard tumbled nine percent. Both companies rely on fees they get from banks when consumers use their cards. The difference is that Visa has a much bigger market share of debit cards, which consumers continue to use daily to buy necessities like food and gasoline.

MasterCard has relied more on fees from credit card spending in a time when people are fearful of job losses. More people are keeping those cards tucked away and use them only when they have to.

And credit extended to consumers by banks has seized up. That was evident in the one percent decline in the number of cards bearing the MasterCard logo.

While MasterCard's worldwide purchase volume rose six percent from the year-ago period, to $510 billion, it fell in the US.

Credit card use dropped nearly eight percent in the US while rising about nine percent in the rest of the world.

Use of MasterCard's debit cards spiked worldwide, with a 10 percent gain in the U.S. and nearly 16 percent jump worldwide.

For the final three months of 2009, MasterCard earned $294 million, or $2.24 per share, compared with $239.4 million, or $1.83 per share, in the prior-year period.

Adjusted for an after-tax severance charge, profit rose to $2.43 per share.

Revenue rose to $1.3 billion, from $1.22 billion a year ago.