Mastercard is bringing its real identity payment cards to Europe in support of trans and non-binary communities
Brussels, Belgium, 9th July 2020: Today, Mastercard has announced their commitment to bring the True Name™ card to Europe in 2020, enabling people to reflect their preferred identity on their payment cards.
For many people around the world, the identity printed on their cards does not reflect who they truly are. For the transgender and non-binary communities in particular, the name on their card can serve as a source of sensitivity and embarrassment, with the option to change their name currently resulting in a long and arduous legal process. True Name™ from Mastercard has been designed to change that, enhancing and empowering individuals’ shopping experience by allowing them to display their preferred name on their card.
Following on from a successful launch in the US in 2019, Mastercard is committing to have the True Name™ card available in Europe for as many countries as possible by the end of the year and are calling on the industry to support this initiative and become better allies to the LGBTQ+ community.
Mark Barnett, President, Europe, Mastercard commented; “Our names define us, and for millions in the LGBTQ+ community their payment card doesn’t currently enable people to be their true selves. As allies of the LGBTQ+ community, we have an opportunity to affect real and meaningful change that will help address and alleviate this issue. We urge our partners to join us in making the True Name™ card possible in countries across Europe so that we can help ease the journey for the transgender and non-binary community to using their true identity safely, simply and with pride.”
True Name™ from Mastercard has no incremental compliance requirements above typical credit card programs – making implementation with Mastercard simple. Accessibility and enablement are vitally important to these communities; nearly one-third (32%) of individuals who have shown IDs with a name or gender that did not match their presentation reported negative experiences, such as being harassed, denied services, and/or attacked. As such, many transgender or non-binary individuals choose to forego the cost, complexity and anxiety associated with official name and gender changes. Until now, this discrimination has carried through to their cards and payment mechanisms.
Clémence Zamora-Cruz, spokesperson for Inter-LGBT, commented on this move “Inter-LGBT welcomes all action that recognizes gender and first name of trans and non-binary persons. This initiative reflects the request of trans persons: the recognition of their gender and name by a simple declaration, based only on self-determination. Mastercard’s position is in line with the Defenseur des Droits [a concept in France] recommendation who has been requesting since 2016 that banks should adapt and take into consideration first names. Among the 10 recommendations to assert the rights of trans persons which has been released on June 26th 2020, it recommends that the institutions respect the identity of trans persons by agreeing to modify their first name, gender and gender marker and by broadening the list of identifications required for contract subscription. The European decision-makers should draw inspiration from this initiative to make the change possible for trans people’ first name based only on self-determination and by a simple administrative procedure, as established by resolution 2048 of the council of Europe.”
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