(Reuters) - MasterCard Inc's second-quarter profit rose a better-than-expected 33 percent as the company processed more card transactions and revenue increased.

The Purchase, New York-based payment processor beat the average Wall Street estimate despite signs that the U.S. economy slowed in the quarter, and its shares rose 3 percent in premarket trade.

Consumers increasingly rely on debit and credit cards for everyday purchases, rather than cash or other payment types. Processing companies like MasterCard and rival Visa Inc benefit from this shift in consumer behavior.

MasterCard on Wednesday reported second-quarter net income of $608 million or $4.76 per share, up from $458 million, or $3.49 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts expected $4.23 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Visa also beat analysts' expectations when it reported quarterly results last week.

MasterCard's revenue increased 22 percent to $1.7 billion as its cross-border and overseas business grew. The company also benefited from converting former Visa clients SunTrust Banks Inc and Sovereign Bank to its own debit card system.

Overall, MasterCard's cross-border transactions rose 19.3 percent, and processed transactions increased 17.4 percent.

The company said it also gained from new processing business in the Netherlands and Brazil.

Total operating expenses increased 20 percent to $782 million. MasterCard said the rise was due to higher personnel costs related to acquisitions.

MasterCard shares were up $9.40 to $307.89 in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Joe Rauch, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and John Wallace)

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