True Name
Mastercard2019
True Name is a 2019 business action (card feature) with launch installation for Mastercard, created by McCann New York.
Why it works
A product change that did the work of a campaign. For many transgender and non-binary people, a payment card printed with a name they no longer use can out them every time they pay; Mastercard's research found nearly a third of people whose ID didn't match how they presented had been harassed, refused service or attacked. In June 2019, during WorldPride and the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, Mastercard announced True Name, letting cardholders show their chosen name on credit, debit and prepaid cards without a legal name change, unveiled with rainbow 'Acceptance Street' signs in New York's West Village. Because banks issue the cards, Mastercard launched the feature as a call for the whole industry to change; by 2022 more than a dozen issuers worldwide offered it. It won the Brand Experience & Activation Grand Prix at Cannes 2021 and a D&AD Black Pencil. It is studied as purpose built into infrastructure: a fix inside the payment system rather than a message about inclusion.
Techniques
- Purpose and cause Lets transgender and non-binary cardholders show their chosen name on cards, fixing a source of harassment inside the payment system rather than just talking about inclusion.
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