Mastercard announced on Monday, June 17, its True Name™ card initiative, which will allow for chosen names to appear on the front of consumers' cards.
Many members in the LGBTQ community, particularly trans and non-binary people, have run into issues purchasing items with a credit card and been faced with discrimination. In fact, Mastercard shared research that found nearly one-third of individuals who have shown IDs with a name or gender that did not match their presentation reported negative experiences, including being harassed, denied services and/or attacked.
Mastercard did some research into its network's rules to understand if there were requirements for individuals to include their legal names on their cards and found that there weren't. This spurred the True Name card initiative.
"It first starts with their name, that's who they are, that's their identity," Randall Tucker, chief inclusion officer for Mastercard, tells CNBC Make It. With Mastercard True Name "you can choose your name on your credit card, your debit card and your prepaid card, which is amazing."
Mastercard is hoping this initiative will spark conversation within the industry and is urging other businesses to apply these standards, so financial products can reflect their owners' true identity.
"We're paying it forward, not because it's in vogue, but because it's who we are as an organization," Tucker says.
Mastercard plans to have True Name cards on the market by early 2020.
Mastercard also partnered with the New York City Commission on Human Rights to create an all-inclusive version of the iconic street sign at the corner of Gay and Christopher Streets in New York City's West Village, adding rainbow of street signs for each letter in the LGBTQIA+ acronym. This is just in time for WorldPride — which takes place in New York City this June — and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
"We're going to be one of those forces for good within our industries," Tucker says.
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