Mastercard’s philosophy of “doing well by doing good” is a principle the company is deeply committed to carrying out. They’re investing significant resources into making the global economy more accessible and equitable for all kinds of people, especially the most vulnerable. As the company creates more ways for their customers—both corporations and cardholders—to give, Mastercard’s collaboration with World Vision offers a valuable blend of expertise and innovation. “We’re achieving the goal of social impact as we achieve our business goals by infusing causes in the business that we do,” says Cristina Paslar, Mastercard’s senior vice president of strategic growth.
Significant among Mastercard’s social achievements is the Mastercard Aid Network. Its purpose is to get efficient aid to vulnerable populations—and by leveraging Mastercard’s vast infrastructure, technology, and expertise to design specific products, it’s helping to optimize World Vision operations, especially in how aid and support arrive to the people World Vision serves. The network also helps provide digital vouchers to refugee communities in countries like Mozambique, Nepal, Kenya, South Sudan, and the Philippines. Recently, Mastercard has been working with VisionFund, World Vision’s microfinance arm, exploring ways to better connect humanitarian and development work with savings groups and microfinance.
The ultimate goal is to make sure the most vulnerable populations can access digital finances and resources, no matter their circumstances.
In Australia, World Vision and Mastercard launched the first social media donation program, allowing people to make instant donations every time they commented “#donate” under World Vision’s posts. Mastercard also recently launched the Mastercard Donate mobile app that allows U.S. cardholders to donate to World Vision along with their transactions. Soon, another feature will allow people to round up their purchase to the next dollar and give the change to World Vision.
Mastercard is also expanding their aid delivery collaborations, positioning resources to keep the beneficiary at the center of the response. The goal? Equipping vulnerable people with access to digital and financial tools that can connect them with the formal economy and help them climb the socioeconomic ladder. “We are proud to work with World Vision every day to find new ways to make an impact,” says Paslar. “At Mastercard, we make inclusion core to our business—not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because we all succeed in a thriving world.”
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