“Choose France” summit

Mastercard partners with French government in accelerating the digitization of the French economy

Michael Froman, Vice-Chairman and President, Strategic Growth for Mastercard joined today the “Choose France” summit in Versailles attended by 150 CEOs and several members of the government upon the invitation of Emmanuel Macron. This event, which brought together company heads and political decision-makers alike, was designed to promote France’s economic appeal at international level.

As a technology company in the global payment industry, Mastercard is connecting people to innovative solutions all over the world. It has been working for many years with public and private players in France and beyond to advance inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

As part of this commitment, Mastercard announced the launch in France of a four-year “Partnership for the Digital Economy,” covering various strategic areas of development in line with the French government’s strategic public policy regarding digitization and growth of the economy: tourism, fintech, AI, digital identity and cybersecurity, financial inclusion & the future of work, representing a total investment of €15 Million.

Michael Froman, Vice-Chairman and President, Strategic Growth for Mastercard, commented, “Making the digital economy work for everyone requires collaboration between the public and private sectors. We look forward to expanding our work in France through this ‘Partnership for the Digital Economy’, bringing to bear our global experience and our innovative technologies – and working hand in hand with local authorities and companies.”

With this partnership for the digital economy, Mastercard will deploy the following initiatives in France over the 2020-2023 period:

Tourism: As part of the government Tourism Plan of July 2017, Mastercard is launching an investment program in France aimed at supporting the French government’s strategic goals of attracting at least 100 million foreign visitors to France and increasing the duration of their stays in the country. The four-year collaboration program includes initiatives aimed at increasing the number of international visitors to France, making it easier for them to learn about the culture and various regions attractions, through an enhanced digital experience. The program will be launched in partnership with nationwide and local public players in the tourism sector in France.

Fintech: Mastercard is boosting its commitment in France to fintech firms. Mastercard will continue to provide operational and internationalization support to French fintech firms, relying on its teams of experts in France and around the world as well as its global programs, such as Start Path and Accelerate and its Labs in Dublin. In January 2020, Mastercard renewed its commitment as founding partner of fintech accelerator Swave in Paris La Défense for a further three years. With the financial and operational support of its private and public partners, Swave now assists nearly 50 French fintech firms.

Artificial intelligence: as part of the French program “AI for Humanity,” Mastercard is launching an AI-based solutions development program in Paris. To this end, it will leverage its technology platforms and artificial intelligence expertise. This innovation program aims to adopt a co-creation approach with private and public players to explore potential applications of artificial intelligence in a broad set of areas, including, in particular, fraud prevention, mobility, smart cities, healthcare and employment. The program will be open partnership with a range of business sectors including banking, commerce, travel, telecommunications and government. Central to the program will be the adherence to strictly ethical principles of artificial intelligence for the well-being of humankind.

Digital identity and cybersecurity: Following the announcement of Mastercard’s September 2019 launch of its digital identity program, and in the context of the government’s digitization of its public services, Mastercard aims to invest in France by leveraging its Digital Identity and cybersecurity experts, its technology and business partners to the government and the private sector, to support France in their national digitization programs.

Financial inclusion and the future of work: Mastercard has long been committed to advancing inclusion and diversity. Together with several strategic partners, Mastercard is working to facilitate greater access to financial tools with a view to improving the daily lives of all citizens and reducing inequality. To this end, it has committed to the financial inclusion, worldwide, of an additional 500 million people by 2020 and 40 million micro-firms by 2021. Mastercard aims to leverage on its global financial inclusion expertise to support programs across France. An example of Mastercard future of work approach is the awareness-raising program Girls4tech, created in 2014. Designed around a fun approach to science and math, this program allows girls to better train and prepare for careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“Girls4Tech is an example of our dedication to the community and our efforts in the areas of gender equality in education and inclusiveness. At Mastercard, we want to help make careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics accessible to all. Although mindsets are gradually changing, it’s still necessary to work for greater diversity in these professions, which are vital today and will be even more important tomorrow. In France, we will continue our initiatives with a view to increasing our impact by working with partners who are also dedicated to these values,” explained Solveig Honoré Hatton, Country Manager, Mastercard France.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. Our global payments processing network connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

 

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