Multinational corporation Mastercard and the Trinidad & Tobago International Financial Centre (TTIFC) on Thursday (November 18) announced their partnership to develop and implement strategic solutions that advance digital and financial inclusion by supporting fintech companies on the twin-island republic.

This agreement between Mastercard and TTIFC will accelerate digitalisation.

Through this partnership, Mastercard will leverage its global technology platforms, insights, and experience from working with governments and fintech companies around the world to support Trinidad & Tobago in achieving its digital transformation objectives.

The key areas of focus in the agreement include:

• Mastercard and TTIFC will optimise relationships with fintech companies, best practices in payments and services to drive its digital agenda, which directly supports efforts toward financial inclusion, and creating secure and accessible digitised payment solutions for small and medium-sized businesses.
• The organisations will drive assessments of the ways in which the government can leverage technology to improve the disbursement of social benefits, payroll management and other public sector payments. As seen in other countries around the world, digitisation of such payments paves the way for benefits such as increased efficiencies, ease of access and security for citizens.

“The Caribbean is experiencing exponential growth in digitalisation, and Trinidad & Tobago is leading the way. We are supporting this dramatic transformation and efforts to enable financial inclusion, especially after the global challenges we are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dalton Fowles, Mastercard Country Manager for Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.

“As the TTIFC seeks to modernize the way citizens interact with the Government in terms of payments, it is imperative to have experienced partners such as Mastercard who have the expertise and insights in enabling ‘cashless societies’,” explained John Outridge, Chief Executive Officer of TTIFC.

Mastercard and TTIFC have cemented their relationship through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by John Outridge, Chief Executive Officer of TTIFC, and Dalton Fowles, Mastercard Country Manager for Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.

The MoU underlines Mastercard’s ongoing efforts to advance digital and financial inclusion through human capital development and small business engagement, supporting its global commitment to bring 1 billion people and 50 million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025.