MasterCard: Driving Financial Inclusion, Teaching Note

Teaching note for case 515035. Since joining MasterCard (MC) in 2010, CEO Ajay Banga had made advancing financial inclusion (FI)-bringing formal financial services to marginalized populations-an important goal for the company. In 2014, MC had entered a number of partnerships with governments and banks to issue MC-branded debit cards to millions of individuals, including those in South Africa and Nigeria. But Banga's emphasis on FI also raised questions for MC. Was the management time and attention well spent given the low returns expected from adding millions of poor bank account holders? Was this time better spent focusing on the large and growing middle class in emerging markets like India and China? If a program failed in a given market, would the MC brand suffer long-term damage there?