Mastercard’s Wildlife Impact Card helps consumers with a passion for nature to protect wildlife habitats of Critically Endangered Species. The expiration date and language printed on each card highlight the urgency for action, noting that many Critically Endangered Species may become extinct before the card expires. Our objective is to partner with banks around the world to launch the card and drive awareness of this important cause while supporting our charity partner, Conservation International (CI). CI protects and restores wildlife habitats around the world, including priority areas equal to 40 million hectares of landscapes and 4.5 square kilometers of seascapes by 2030.
Mastercard partnered with Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) to launch a Wildlife Impact Card in Costa Rica, featuring a locally relevant and Critically Endangered Species: the Hawksbill Turtle (Carey in Spanish). By teaming up with an influential, government-owned bank with a robust ESG strategy and deploying in a country with one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet (6%), we were primed to maximize local relevancy and impact.
The card is made of 85.5% recycled plastic and features a proprietary image of the Hawksbill Turtle. On top of Mastercard’s core debit benefits, Carey cardholders can access sustainability and wellness experiences through a co-branded priceless.com site and use Mastercard’s donation widget to contribute directly to Conservation International. Soon, they will also be able to track the carbon footprint of their purchases using our Carbon Calculator.
Carey cardholders also get exclusive access to two Priceless Experiences in protected conservation areas with the help of local guides. The first takes place at the Ostional Wildlife Refuge where they can witness firsthand the turtles’ nesting, egg laying and hatching process. For the second experience, cardholders can visit Golfo Dulce, a unique tropical fjord which serves as a very important area for the sighting and breeding of hammerhead sharks.
We launched the card on May 4th, 2023 at a press conference at the Hotel Aurola Holiday Inn in San Jose, Costa Rica. Media outlets and BCR, Mastercard and CI representatives were in attendance. Mastercard issued a press release and all three partners posted on their social media channels and websites to drive awareness of the Carey card.
What makes Mastercard uniquely positioned to deliver this solution is where we sit within the payments ecosystem, which allows us to serve as the connective tissue between a financial institution like Banco de Costa Rica with a reputable charity like Conservation International. Bringing these partners together and activating this collaboration within our network can be both rewarding and challenging, but it is all worthwhile when we get to drive a greater impact together.
Within one week of the press conference, the Carey card was featured in 17 publications (11 online, 5 TV news, and 1 print), achieving 71% penetration of top tier media outlets and garnering 100% positive sentiment. They plan to issue 100,000 cards over the next 5 years, and are continuing to run mail, social media, digital and TV advertisements to drive awareness and acquisition.