Andrei Korolev, General Manager Moscow Office, MasterCard Europe said: “The new Social Card will facilitate the access and distribution of welfare benefits and make the process more convenient and secure, whether the benefits are in-kind, special purpose or monetary. MasterCard is open to extending the solution throughout Europe in an effort to make the provision of social benefits easier across the region.” Fikret Ates, Vice President Chip Product Management, MasterCard Worldwide adds: “The MasterCard Social Card uses contemporary chip technology, which means that several social benefits can be stored on the card and triggered by beneficiaries on the spot in various environments. The chip technology also allows for benefits to be added or modified during the lifetime of the card. Currently the Russian welfare system involves complicated, expensive processing, so a multi-application chip card is the natural solution.” The new Social Card will be bank-issued and loaded with the welfare beneficiary’s personal data, which is recognized when the card is used to claim social benefit. The Social Card Programme has been developed to offer a number of benefits over conventional card systems, including heightened access control, increased speed to market, enhanced fraud prevention, added customer convenience, high fault tolerance, ease of use and cost effectiveness. louise_herbert@mastercard.com www.mastercardworldwide.com