Mastercard is working with the digital banking platform provider
The Crescent City Card aims to address wealth gaps and expand financial literacy by providing 10 payments of $350 to participants between ages 16 and 24 via a Mastercard-branded prepaid card MoCaFi is distributing.
Funding for the project comes from a $500,000 grant from Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a coalition of U.S. mayors who support a nationwide universal basic income program.
The Crescent City Card, equipped with contactless technology, will also serve as a way to disburse emergency funds to eligible residents, while providing access to local transit, libraries and recreation facilities, Mastercard said.
The program’s goals include bringing more New Orleans residents into the digital financial ecosystem, the release said. Louisiana perennially ranks among states with low financial literacy rates, according to WalletHub.
MoCaFi earlier this year began working with the office of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell to distribute $190,000 to local residents affected by Hurricane Ida through MoCaFi’s Immediate Response Card, a Mastercard-branded prepaid debit card.
“MoCaFi is honored to join the city of New Orleans and Mastercard in offering a financial product that will effectively address the wealth gap in this incredible city,” Wole Coaxum, MoCaFi’s CEO, said in a press release. Coaxum founded MoCaFi in 2014, after racial uprisings in Ferguson, Missouri. The company has offices in Harlem, New York, and Newark, New Jersey.
“With our product innovation and insights, Mastercard is helping cities like New Orleans accelerate recovery with equity and resiliency in mind so they are better equipped for the future,” Linda Kirkpatrick, Mastercard North America’s president, said in the release.
