BCTA MEMBERSHIP STATUS
Active

SECTOR
Financial Services

HEADQUARTERS
United States

REGION OF INITIATIVE
Asia & Pacific, Africa, Latin America & Caribbean, Eastern Europe & Central Asia, Arab States

SDG CONTRIBUTION

Payments technology company Mastercard has joined Business Call to Action (BCtA) in 2017 with a commitment to reach an additional 200 million people (500 million total) previously excluded from financial services by 2020, in line with World Bank’s goal of Universal Financial Access. By 2022, Mastercard also aims to connect 40 million micro- and small merchants to its electronic payment network in order to accelerate the adoption and use of its financial tools.

Approximately 2 billion people worldwide do not have access to financial services, preventing them from accessing other services such as savings accounts, loans and insurance. Barriers to entering the formal economy include a lack of formal identification documents, limited physical access to banks, a lack of trust in the system and financial illiteracy.

For governments and NGOs delivering social assistance, cash and in-kind aid heighten the risk of fraud and waste, and suppress local markets. Cash economies in emergencies and development contexts inevitably create shadow economies fostering corruption, black markets, money laundering and tax evasion.

With the proliferation of mobile connectivity worldwide in recent years, the possibility of financial inclusion for all is growing every year. This includes enabling millions of small businesses – from which the majority of the world’s people obtain food and other critical items – to accept non-cash payments. But until recently, financial service providers have seen only limited success connecting hard-to-reach areas. This is because financial inclusion goes beyond access: to be successful, these services need to be widely utilized.

Mastercard has innovated a new way of working towards inclusion, partnering with small businesses, governments and others to increase financial literacy, ease the adoption of electronic payments and provide flexible point-of-sale technologies. For example, its Masterpass QR leverages QR codes to enable cost-effective electronic payments for micro-enterprises. In addition, the company has partnered with the International Finance Corporation to create a risk-sharing facility that increases small businesses’ access to financial services.

As part of its BCtA commitment, Mastercard pledges to reach an additional 2 million people with humanitarian aid. With innovative products such as Mastercard Aid Network, aid organizations are assisting the world’s most vulnerable people while stimulating local economies. A robust business case and strategic partnerships are enabling Mastercard and its partners to be agents of transformative change, creating more inclusive economies and more empowered populations.