Mastercard and the National Bank of Ukraine have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cyber resilience across Ukraine's financial sector.
Under the MoU, Mastercard and the NBU will coordinate efforts across three primary areas: developing joint initiatives to promote cybersecurity best practices within Ukraine's financial sector, exchanging data and analytical insights on current cyber threats to improve risk assessment and project planning, as well as strengthening cybersecurity competencies, including threat prevention, incident response, and the adoption of secure digital practices.
The agreement also covers the implementation of international cyber protection standards and further digitalisation of financial services within the country.
Broader digital partnership context
The MoU builds on an existing relationship between Mastercard and Ukrainian authorities. In November 2025, Mastercard and the Government of Ukraine signed a separate MoU to launch a Digital Country Partnership, an initiative designed to accelerate Ukraine's digital agenda by drawing on the company's expertise in payments development, digital infrastructure, and cybersecurity. The latest agreement with the NBU extends this collaboration specifically into the financial regulatory and supervisory domain.
Mastercard has operated in Ukraine for 30 years, during which time the company has supported the development of the country's digital economy. The financial sector's cyber resilience carries particular significance in the current operating environment, where continuity of financial services remains a national priority.
According to the official press release, for the NBU, the partnership is framed as a means of expanding institutional capacity to address contemporary cyber threats. A company official noted that cooperation with an international partner of this scale is intended to take financial infrastructure protection to a higher level.
The agreement reflects a wider trend among central banks and financial regulators seeking structured partnerships with global technology and payments firms to address the growing complexity of cyber threats targeting financial infrastructure. For Mastercard, the arrangement adds to a portfolio of public sector engagements and reinforces its positioning as a provider of cybersecurity solutions to governments and financial institutions.
