Mastercard donates $200,000 for recovery from Hurricane Ida, wildfires

04 / 09 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

Mastercard donated $200,000 to the American Red Cross to be used for recovery efforts for Hurricane Ida and wildfires in California, as well as resettlement work across the US for refugees from Afghanistan.

This funding is in addition to Mastercard’s commitment earlier this year to provide the Red Cross with $250,000 to support its general disaster recovery efforts.

The funding will also buttress Mastercard’s employee disaster relief training as the company will be deploying ten employees, all trained disaster responders, to support to recovery efforts in Louisiana.

With a major transmission tower just west of New Orleans knocked out by winds and high-voltage lines sunk in the Mississippi River, many residents and businesses could be without electricity and cell phone service potentially for weeks.

Mastercard is committed to harnessing its network, technology, insights and know-how to solve social and humanitarian challenges like these.

For example, Mastercard is using its payments network to identify which merchants from specific categories – like home improvement stores and supermarkets – are still open. It then shares that information to help Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster planning and recovery work.

This store data also powers ShopOpenings.com, a retail search tool that can help residents with internet access find which stores and businesses are open in their communities. It is continually updated, so as more businesses, from pharmacies to restaurants, come online, their local communities can support them and buy the supplies they need. Shop owners don’t need to register to take part.

“Our thoughts are with those who have endured significant loss during this already trying time,” says Linda Kirkpatrick, Mastercard’s president for North America. “Mastercard is committed to using its technology, products and resources to support ongoing recovery efforts in a sustainable way.”