Mastercard
Mastercard Incorporated is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in New York. Together with Visa, it has created a duopoly in many financial services.
Contents
Activities
In 2010, WikiLeaks published documents showing that American authorities lobbied Russia to defend the interests of Visa and Mastercard[1].
In response, in December 2010, Mastercard blocked all payments to WikiLeaks with claims that they engage in illegal activity.[2].
Extrajudicial reach
Members of the European Parliament have expressed concern that payments from European citizens to a European corporation could apparently be blocked by the United States, and called for a further reduction in the dominance of Visa and Mastercard in the European payment system.[3]
Digital ID experiments in Africa
In 2014, pursuant to an agreement between Mastercard and the Nigerian Government, acting through the National Identity Management Commission, the new Nigerian ID cards will bear the Mastercard logo, contain personal database data and double as payment cards, irrevocably linking such payments to the individuals.[4]
On December 11, 2018, Mastercard and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance announced a partnership to increase immunization rates in five countries by introducing "a card with a digital immunization record, to each participating child’s caregiver."[5] The program, called the Mastercard Wellness Pass, was described as "a digital birth certificate" and "a credit card," and is linked to the parents' phone number.[6][7]
On June 7, 2019, Mastercard launched their Mastercard Digital Wellness program to "enhance transparency, security and choice for online shopping."[8] This included integrations with EMVco for online checkout capabilities and NuData, a subsidiary of Mastercard focused on artificial intelligence.
COVID-19
On March 10, 2020, Mastercard joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust in committing up to $125 million towards the creation of the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.[9][10]
On June 3, 2020, Gavi announced that Mastercard would "adapt its Wellness Pass solution for the COVID-19 response."[11]
Known members
3 of the 14 of the members already have pages here:
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| Ajay Banga | Indian-US business with a lot of connections, especially to processed food. As Mastercard executive interested in a cashless society. |
| Julius Genachowski | Attended the 2013 WEF AGM as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission |
| Merit Janow | CFR, TLC, Bilderberg 2004. In 2009, she became a member of the International Advisory Council of the Chinese sovereign wealth fund. |
References
- ↑ https://www.lepoint.fr/monde/wikileaks-en-russie-visa-et-mastercard-au-coeur-de-troublantes-revelations-08-12-2010-1272689_24.php
- ↑ http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20024776-281.html
- ↑ http://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/media-technologie/article3332240.ece/Zorgen_over_dominantie_Visa_en_Mastercard_in_Europa.html/
- ↑ https://www.premiumtimesng.com/featured-news/167479-scandalous-outrage-in-nigeria-as-government-brands-national-id-card-with-mastercards-logo.html
- ↑ *Gavi and Mastercard Join Forces to Reach More Children with Lifesaving Vaccines.* (2018, December 11). Mastercard. http://archive.today/2023.03.16-153530/https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/gavi-and-mastercard-join-forces-to-reach-more-children-with-lifesaving-vaccines/
- ↑ Salmon, F. (2018, December 16). *Mastercard’s technology helps immunize the world’s poorest children.* Axios. https://web.archive.org/web/20221205205050/https://www.axios.com/2018/12/16/mastercard-gavi-vaccine-partnership-world-poverty
- ↑ Fauzia, M. (2020, September 9). *Fact check: Mastercard’s partnership on vaccination records is unrelated to finances.* USA TODAY. http://archive.today/2021.09.13-171634/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/09/09/fact-check-mastercard-partnership-vaccines-unrelated-finances/5658366002/
- ↑ Sen, C. (2019, June 7). Mastercard Digital Wellness Program to Enhance Transparency, Security and Choice for Online Shopping. Mastercard. https://web.archive.org/web/20230604005624/https://mastercardcontentexchange.com/news/press/2019/june/mastercard-digital-wellness-program-to-enhance-transparency-security-and-choice-for-online-shopping/
- ↑ COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. (2020, March 10). Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. http://archive.today/2021.04.25-054406/https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Ideas/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/03/COVID-19-Therapeutics-Accelerator
- ↑ Suzman, M. (2020, March 10). Announcing the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. http://archive.today/2022.01.18-165008/https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/coronavirus-mark-suzman-therapeutics
- ↑ Weintraub, J., & Tissandier, F. (2020, June 3). Private sector partners strengthen Gavi programmes with more than US$ 70 million in contributions. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. http://archive.today/2020.07.18-125751/https://www.gavi.org/news/media-room/private-sector-partners-strengthen-gavi-programmes-more-us-70-million-contributions
