Mastercard to test digital payments for workers with Levi, others

Global nonprofit BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) also joins this programme, which aims to improve the wellbeing of factory workers who currently lack access to the financial tools and services.

Mastercard and its partners are coordinating pilots in Egypt and Cambodia with a hybrid digital payment solution. Participating factories will be able to deposit wages directly into workers’ accounts while workers can activate debit/prepaid cards or digital wallets through which they can pay bills or send money directly to family and friends.

According to the press release, garment factories that shift to digital payroll, for instance, experience a 53% savings in staff time for the teams that count and disburse wages, as data collected through BSR’s HERfinance programmes shows. Moving to digital payments increases access to savings accounts for factory workers from 28% to 43%.