Mastercard

According to a piece recently published in Forbes, almost one third of Americans are part of the new "gig economy", those who don't hold full-time jobs and cobble their incomes together with a variety of part-time gigs, such as Lyft drivers, dog walkers or web developers, amongst others. Seeing a HUGE potential audience, they have developed the multi-faceted Inclusive Futures Project. One of the three objectives of that directive is to develop "solutions to manage finances and speed payments" for those in the gig economy. We LOVE how the private sector ALWAYS finds opportunities and the financial technology category is one of the most important areas that gig economy workers can level their financial playing field. Great directive.

(Cindy Taylor/Publisher)

"With up to a third of Americans working irregular mostly part-time jobs in what has been labeled the gig economy, Mastercard sees a need, and an opportunity, in meeting new payment challenges.

Employers like Uber and Lyft can pay their drivers effectively in real-time and multiple times per day, said Craig Vosburg, president for Mastercard North America. After all, he added, the drivers are experiencing expenses in real-time so why should they have to wait for weeks to get paid?

Gig workers, like dog walkers, can better manage earnings.

Mastercard says it can “address the challenges of workers who juggle multiple jobs, variable paychecks and inconsistent benefits.”

The program called the

Inclusive Futures Project

has three parts — digital solutions to manage finances and speed payments; government services for greater innovation and efficiency; and smart cities for a digitally inclusive future according to the company’s announcement.

Another aspect of its program is to provide payment history and help in budgeting unpredictable cash flows. Mastercard is in a pilot with Care.com, a platform to connect care givers with families looking for care, ranging from pet care or house watching to child care or senior care...

...The Inclusive Futures Project refers to Mastercard’s “Assemble for Millennials” as an example of a budgeting tool for “holistic money management” for young people. It consists of a prepaid account, mobile access, a debit card, a way to set savings goals and P2P payments. In short, it sounds like what Simple and Moven have been doing for years.

In a more specific educational program, Mastercard will join forces with Square to develop workshops for entrepreneurs in New Orleans and Cleveland..."

Full Story at Forbes.com