MasterCard has started talks with issuing banks in Australia ahead of the official launch of its "Priceless Engine" in the first quarter of 2015 - a service intended to deliver a marketing leg-up to the banks courtesy of big data analytics.The service has been developed to analyse data from multiple sources, including social media, in order to better understand customer sentiment, purchasing preferences and emerging trends. MasterCard has signed a two year deal with Facebook which will provide the card giant with data about its Asia Pacific users' activity.The financial terms of that arrangement have not been revealed.According to Sam Ahmed, group head of marketing for MasterCard in Asia Pacific, the insights gleaned from analysing Facebook's data and other information sources will allow its partners to pitch products and services to people as they browse the internet, serving up adverts or targeted offers, in real time directly onto the online sites they are visiting.The underlying intent is to get people to boost their online spending."For our banking partners this will help drive payments," said Ahmed. He said that the insights would allow marketing campaigns to be tested and finessed, and also assist the creation of targeted offers based on customer preferences and emerging trends.The service will be rolled out in Asia Pacific ahead of the rest of the world. Ahmed said that 18 banks from across the region were currently working with the card company on the initiative.Ahmed was sketchy on the details of how much the service would cost the banks,  which will be offered a choice of a four or nine month contract to use the service.