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Mastercard is to roll out cards in Europe that enable users to display an alternative to their given name.

First released in the US in 2019, the ‘True Name’ cards are designed for people – particularly those from LGBTQ+ community – to reflect their preferred identity on their payment cards.

Mark Barnett, president, Europe, Mastercard comments “Our names define us, and for millions in the LGBTQ+ community their payment card doesn’t currently enable people to be their true selves. We urge our partners to join us in making the True Name card possible in countries across Europe so that we can help ease the journey for the transgender and non-binary community to using their true identity.”

Clémence Zamora-Cruz, spokesperson for Inter-LGBT, says the initiative reflects the request of trans persons for the recognition of their gender and name by a simple declaration, based only on self-determination.

“Mastercard’s position is in line with the Defenseur des Droits [a concept in France] recommendation who has been requesting since 2016 that banks should adapt and take into consideration first names,” states Zamora-Cruz. “It recommends that the institutions respect the identity of trans persons by agreeing to modify their first name, gender and gender marker and by broadening the list of identifications required for contract subscription.”

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