(Purchase, NY, Tuesday, October 6, 2020) – The financial system has systemically disadvantaged Black communities and the cost of being excluded has been laid bare as a result of Covid-19.
With half of all Black Americans excluded from the financial mainstream and Black-owned small businesses excluded from funding opportunities, the private sector must step in to help deliver immediate economic benefits, while driving a lasting impact on economic growth.
Mastercard is investing $500 million in Black communities over the next five years. This commitment includes bringing the full strength of Mastercard’s resources and assets to bear – technology, services, philanthropy, partnerships, talent – to have a catalytic impact on economic growth for Black communities and Black-owned businesses across the country, for the long term.
This initiative will focus on three crucial areas:
- Expanding city programs to support Black communities;
- Expanding access to affordable financial tools and services; and
- Expanding access to capital and resources for Black-owned businesses.
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Its mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships, and passion, its innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments, and businesses realize their greatest potential. Mastercard’s decency quotient, or DQ, drives its culture and everything it does inside and outside of the company.