Most consumers are familiar with the MasterCard (MA 1.33%) brand. Many of you, Foolish readers, may even be carrying a MasterCard branded card in your wallet or purse right at this very moment.

But brand familiarity is not enough to justify an investment, even in a company as well-known globally as MasterCard or its competitor Visa (V 0.65%). In the video below, Motley Fool contributor Jay Jenkins takes a look at perhaps the most important fundamental of any company -- how does MasterCard actually make money?