UK finance minister welcomes MasterCard's takeover of payments firm VocaLink

"MasterCard's decision to buy VocaLink shows that Britain remains an attractive destination for international investors. Britain is and continues to be an open and globally facing country in which to do business," he said.

MasterCard agreed on Thursday to pay 701 million pounds ($924 million) for a 92.4 percent stake in VocaLink, which was mostly owned by a consortium of British banks.

(Reporting by Kate Holton and David Milliken; editing by Stephen Addison)