Master Your Card CS – Statler Nagle LLC

Financial inclusion helps everyone, not just business

Driving Financial Inclusion To Help a Company Do Well While Doing Good

The Situation: As a business-to-business enterprise, Mastercard had no direct relationships with consumers, let alone the underserved who confused payment technology with negative impressions of credit card companies. Yet, banks and other consumer-facing payment companies using their technology effectively and incorrectly directed blame for fees and disruptions in service on Mastercard with customers, lawmakers, and regulators.

What We Did: Mastercard turned to Statler Nagle to build a bridge between the company and the end users of their payment technology. We moved beyond typical corporate social responsibility efforts to create and sustain a campaign called Master Your Card that delivered advocacy, business, and brand value through education, collaboration, and innovation with community groups and labor organizations.

The Outcome: African American, Latino and Small Business advisory groups were created to provide deep insight into the needs of historically financially underserved communities. We bridged the corporate/community gap by employing a three-step method to relationship building: input, innovate and educate. Advisory groups were used as sounding boards for necessary changes in products and consumer education. Statler Nagle linked board members, labor representatives and community leaders with Mastercard executives to create innovative payment products that provided the highest value to communities in need. Custom education programs helped communities implement their innovations and speed upward mobility.