How Mastercard is Pushing Cybersecurity & Sustainable Growth
Mastercard’s 2024 Impact Report outlines how the global payments company is delivering against its long-standing promise of doing well by doing good.
Anchored in its People, Prosperity and Planet framework, the report details wide-ranging initiatives, from climate mitigation and inclusive financial services to data-driven social impact and responsible governance.
The company is not only connecting more people to the digital economy but also safeguarding them as they participate in it, driving forward a model of growth that is both inclusive and sustainable.
Prosperity through digital inclusion
Mastercard’s sustainability approach is fundamentally linked to financial inclusion.
Since 2015, the company has connected more than 960 million people and 65 million micro and small businesses (MSMEs) to the digital economy, well ahead of its 2025 targets of one billion and 50 million respectively.
The company’s Community Pass platform enables remote and underserved communities to access critical services such as payments, identification and agricultural marketplaces.
For example, smallholder farmers in Kenya and Uganda are now able to track transactions, establish credit profiles and receive fair payments for their produce.
The programme currently has more than seven million users and continues to expand into new markets.
“Our 2024 Impact Report details the meaningful progress we have made across our impact strategy pillars – People, Prosperity and Planet – the connection of these efforts to our business objectives, as well as areas of opportunity for continued work,” writes Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Vice President at Mastercard, on LinkedIn.
This effort is further amplified through the Mobilising Access to the Digital Economy (MADE) Alliance – a partnership with the African Development Bank and others aiming to bring digital access to 100 million people and businesses across Africa over the next decade.
Climate leadership and environmental action
Mastercard continues to make strong progress on its climate goals. As of 2024, the company has achieved a 46% reduction in combined Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions from its 2016 base year and is on track to reach net zero by 2040.
Notably, 100% of Mastercard’s operations are powered by renewable electricity, and the company is actively scaling long-term procurement of clean energy.
Its Priceless Planet Coalition, a flagship reforestation initiative, has already funded the planting of 26 million trees across projects in Kenya, Brazil, Vietnam and other countries.
These nature-based solutions help improve biodiversity, sequester carbon and support community livelihoods.
In addition to reducing its own footprint, Mastercard is engaging its supply chain to do the same.
Of its top suppliers71% have now committed to science-based climate targets, supporting decarbonisation across the value chain.
Innovation and inclusion
Mastercard’s people strategy focuses on empowering employees, advancing diversity and fostering wellbeing.
In 2024, the company received multiple accolades, including being named one of Forbes’ World’s Best Employers and Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators.
Internally, Mastercard’s Unlocked platform enables employees to pursue mentoring, projects and upskilling opportunities using AI-based career-matching tools.
The company also launched initiatives focused on mental health, including a global network of more than 260 certified Mental Health Champions.
Externally, Mastercard continues to lead with inclusive product design.
Its Touch Card enables visually impaired users to distinguish between card types using tactile notches, while its True Name card allows transgender and non-binary individuals to use their preferred name on their cards, regardless of legal documentation.
Data responsibility and cybersecurity
Mastercard’s digital responsibility strategy revolves around safeguarding trust.
Over the past five years, it has invested US$10.6bn in cybersecurity innovation, helping stop US$47.9bn in fraud through AI-powered solutions.
The company’s data principles are clear: individuals own their data, control its use, benefit from its application and Mastercard must protect it at all costs.
The company’s AI Governance Framework ensures that all artificial intelligence systems are deployed ethically and transparently.
“Our work supports people in Kennesaw, café owners in Kuala Lumpur, smallholder farmers in Kenya and everywhere in between,” says Jon Huntsman, Vice Chairman and President, Strategic Growth, Mastercard.
“It’s about bringing new technologies, insights, tools and resources that connect them to the digital economy while keeping them protected.
“That way they can focus on what’s important, achieving their dreams, growing their operations and contributing to the prosperity of their communities.”
Mastercard also supports governments, law enforcement and fintechs globally to enhance fraud detection and promote responsible data flows.
Community investment
Beyond commercial operations, Mastercard is investing in grassroots impact. In 2024, the company provided US$81m in community giving, with initiatives such as Kids4Tech, Girls4Tech and Data for Good reaching millions of students and nonprofit organisations.
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and Mastercard Impact Fund are at the heart of this effort.
Collectively, they support small businesses, advance financial literacy and fund climate-resilience programmes in vulnerable communities.
One notable 2024 initiative, the Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate Inclusion Challenge, backed AI tools helping small businesses in Latin America and community health workers in Africa.
Mastercard’s 2024 Impact Report provides a transparent, metrics-driven view of how the company is integrating sustainability into its core business.
Whether through climate action, inclusive finance or digital literacy, Mastercard is demonstrating that long-term profitability and positive social impact can go hand in hand.
