MasterCard 2009 Annual Report Download - page 7

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Global Citizenship
At MasterCard, we’re proud of our role in society, as both an enterprise and
corporate citizen. We strongly believe in the inherent benefi ts our payments
solutions deliver: increasing local commercial activity, driving e-commerce, creating
effi ciencies for governments, and enabling unbanked and underbanked individuals
in remote towns and villages to participate more fully in the global economy.
At the same time, our people take pride in being good corporate citizens, whether
promoting education, supporting communities, or coming to the aid of those
in need. Some highlights:
• Educating New Cardholders:
We continue to design and support
efforts worldwide to increase fi nancial
skills among cardholders in both
developed and developing economies.
Many such efforts focus on young
people, whether in Japan, where a
fi nancial education website was a hit
among recent college graduates, or in
the United States, where young adults
participated in the “Are You Credit Wise?”
program, which trains college students
to teach fi nancial management to their
peers. In Latin America, we expanded
our consumer education program in all
markets and hosted our fi rst series of basic
fi nancial courses in one of Brazil’s most
underserved communities.
• Disaster Relief: In early 2010,
our people led efforts to help the
hundreds of thousands left homeless
by the tragic earthquakes that struck
Haiti and Chile. MasterCard waived
interchange fees on donations made
with U.S.-issued MasterCard cards to
the American Red Cross, AmeriCares,
U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Save the
Children, Doctors Without Borders,
Partners In Health, World Vision,
and the United Way. Similar moves
were also announced by MasterCard
regional offi ces. In addition, we made
a corporate donation of $250,000 to
the American Red Cross while double-
matching employee contributions to
relief funds.
highly differentiated products and services that meet the needs of today’s consumers. A prime example lies in our premium
card offerings, which deliver exclusive and personally valuable benefi ts to affl uent cardholders. The past year has seen a
number of exemplary program launches, among them the Permata Black Credit Card in Indonesia, offering exclusive travel,
retail, and dining privileges; and, the BMO Bank of Montreal World Elite®
MasterCard card, which lets Canadian cardholders
redeem points for merchandise, travel, and fi nancial rewards. MasterCard also continues to partner with HSBC on its global
Premier card program targeting internationally minded consumers.
At the same time, we continue to gain traction in the debit space with our wide portfolio of offerings. In the U.S., for
example, we announced a number of signifi cant deals, including those with Fifth Third Bank, FirstMerit Bank, People’s
United Bank, SunTrust, and Woodforest Bank. In addition, Ally Bank announced that it will begin issuing Platinum Debit
MasterCard cards to its online checking account holders. The momentum we experienced in the U.S. extended to other key
regions, as well. We also continued to make inroads in debit that support the Single Euro Payments Area initiative and are
building on strong relationships with retailers like Carrefour and Tesco. Meanwhile, in Mexico, we launched a Platinum Debit
MasterCard card program with Banamex.
As we leverage our insights to develop payment innovations that benefi t society, we also proactively address legal and
regulatory fronts. In Europe, we reached an interim agreement with the European Commission, which recognized the validity
of cross-border interchange, and we continue to pursue our appeal of the Commission’s 2007 decision on these fees. In the
U.S., the enactment of the Credit Card Act, as well as passage of comprehensive fi nancial regulatory reform legislation, has
presented us and our customers with unique challenges in operating under new regulatory frameworks. We continue to work
closely with lawmakers and regulators to ensure that our voices are heard and that they understand the value and impact of
MasterCard’s role in the payments industry. In Canada, meanwhile, we applauded the country’s move to duality. This decision
enables fi nancial institutions to issue credit and debit cards of competing networks, creating new opportunities in a country
where MasterCard is already the fastest-growing payments brand.
•Promoting a Cause: Last year,
MasterCard joined the United
Nations Development Fund for
Women (UNIFEM) in Singapore.
As part of the MasterCard
Purchase with Purpose™ social
responsibility and citizenship
platform, we helped stage a
two-day UNIFEM “Buy to Save”
charity event, offering shoppers
a collection of gently used, high-
end designer clothing, shoes, bags,
and accessories at a fraction of
their original price. We also gave
MasterCard cardholders an extra
way to contribute by donating
an additional $2 to UNIFEM with
every sale.
One MasterCard
Purchase with Purpose
initiative helped fund
bicycles for children
in Cambodia to use
to get to school.
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