By Vanessa Callison-Burch, Product Manager, Jennifer Guadagno, Researcher, and Antigone Davis, Head of Global Safety

There is one death by suicide in the world every 40 seconds, and suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15-29 year olds. Experts say that one of the best ways to prevent suicide is for those in distress to hear from people who care about them.

Facebook is in a unique position — through friendships on the site — to help connect a person in distress with people who can support them. It’s part of our ongoing effort to help build a safe community on and off Facebook.

Today we’re updating the tools and resources we offer to people who may be thinking of suicide, as well as the support we offer to their concerned friends and family members:

Integrated suicide prevention tools to help people in real time on Facebook Live Live chat support from crisis support organizations through Messenger Streamlined reporting for suicide, assisted by artificial intelligence

Already on Facebook if someone posts something that makes you concerned about their well-being, you can reach out to them directly or report the post to us. We have teams working around the world, 24/7, who review reports that come in and prioritize the most serious reports like suicide. We provide people who have expressed suicidal thoughts with a number of support options. For example, we prompt people to reach out to a friend and even offer pre-populated text to make it easier for people to start a conversation. We also suggest contacting a help line and offer other tips and resources for people to help themselves in that moment.

Suicide prevention tools have been available on Facebook for more than 10 years and were developed in collaboration with mental health organizations such as Save.org, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Forefront and Crisis Text Line, and with input from people who have personal experience thinking about or attempting suicide. In 2016 we expanded the availability of the latest tools globally — with the help of over 70 partners around the world — and improved how they work based on new technology and feedback from the community.

Supporting Someone on Facebook Live

Our suicide prevention tools for Facebook posts will now be integrated into Facebook Live. People watching a live video have the option to reach out to the person directly and to report the video to us. We will also provide resources to the person reporting the live video to assist them in helping their friend. The person sharing a live video will see a set of resources on their screen. They can choose to reach out to a friend, contact a help line or see tips. If you or someone you know is in crisis, it is important to call local emergency services right away. You can also visit our Help Center for information about how to support yourself or a friend.

Empowering Crisis Support Partners

Partners are key to our work in suicide prevention and mental health support.

We recently added the ability for people to connect with our crisis support partners over Messenger. Now people will see the option to message with someone in real time directly from the organization’s Page or through our suicide prevention tools. Participating organizations include Crisis Text Line, the National Eating Disorder Association and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This test will expand over the next several months, ensuring the organizations can support any new volume of communication. Zendesk donated some of the company’s backend tools to make this integration possible. Today, we are also launching a video campaign with partner organizations across the globe to raise awareness about ways to help a friend in need.

Making Reporting Easier

We work to address posts expressing thoughts of suicide as quickly and accurately as possible.

Based on feedback from experts, we are testing a streamlined reporting process using pattern recognition in posts previously reported for suicide. This artificial intelligence approach will make the option to report a post about “suicide or self injury” more prominent for potentially concerning posts like these. We’re also testing pattern recognition to identify posts as very likely to include thoughts of suicide. Our Community Operations team will review these posts and, if appropriate, provide resources to the person who posted the content, even if someone on Facebook has not reported it yet. We are starting this limited test in the US and will continue working closely with suicide prevention experts to understand other ways we can use technology to help provide support.

Suicide prevention is one way we’re working to build a safer community on Facebook. With the help of our partners and people’s friends and family members on Facebook, we’re hopeful we can support more people over time.

BARCELONA – March 1, 2017 – At Mobile World Congress, Mastercard announced a new solution for South African MultiChoice customers to quickly and conveniently pay their digital satellite television accounts using Masterpass, the global digital payment service from Mastercard, on their smartphones.

Customers can download Masterpass from the iOS or Android app store, register, and load their credit, debit or check cards from any bank into the digital wallet. Payment card information – including card details from Mastercard and other payment networks – is only captured once eliminating the hassle of repeatedly entering these details each time they want to pay their bill.

To settle their DStv accounts, customers simply click on the link they receive from DStv via SMS, and select Masterpass as the payment option. They authorize the payment by entering their ATM PIN or One Time PIN, and their account is updated within a few minutes.

“We’re pleased to work with MultiChoice South Africa to make bill payments simpler, faster and more convenient for DStv customers,” says Mark Elliott, Division President of Mastercard, South Africa. “With Masterpass, customers can simply use the app on their smartphones to manage their payments anytime and from anywhere – be it at home, at work or on-the-go.”

Another key benefit is that DStv customers who missed payments and had their DStv service disconnected, can settle their accounts using Masterpass and get reconnected quickly.

“With the new Masterpass payment option, our customers never need to miss out on their favorite shows or big sporting events. The collaboration with Mastercard helps us to give our customers simple, secure and pain-free payment options that make life easier for them,” says Mark Rayner, CEO for MultiChoice South Africa.

Customers can rest assured that their information is secured as the Masterpass digital wallet uses multiple layers of security, ensuring the user’s personal and payments details are protected.

Download our Mobile World Congress 2017 app or find a complete list of Mastercard news announcements in our Digital Press Kit. Check out our Periodic Table of Payments to brush up on your payments knowledge. Follow us @MastercardNews or by using the hashtag #MWC17 to join the conversation.

About MultiChoice South Africa 

MultiChoice is South Africa’s leading multi-channel digital satellite and pay-television destination, and has been operating for almost 25 years. Our philosophy is simple: we aim to enrich lives. We do this by offering great entertainment into the daily lives of our customers, and also ensuring we positively impact the communities in which we operate. MultiChoice is wholly owned by MIH Holdings Proprietary Limited, a subsidiary of Naspers Limited. Forming part of the MultiChoice South Africa Group are M-Net, SuperSport, DStv Media Sales, DStv Digital Media. Over 5.7 million South Africans invite us into their homes every day through our DStv service. With a sporting offering that is unrivalled, blockbuster movies, children’s entertainment, independent news channels and the most awarded series, as well as the best of local content, it’s not surprising that DStv continues to grow its customer base every year. And we deliver this content through a range of different platforms – from our flagship Explora decoder to our DStv Now app. The additional services we offer such as streaming live television and Catch Up on DStv Now app, our DStv Catch Up and BoxOffice service, puts our offering amongst the best on demand providers in the world.

MultiChoice South Africa Communications Contact 

Marietjie Groenewald, +27 11 289 3067

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry.  We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.  Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone.  Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

Mastercard Communications Contact
Birgit Deibele, +27 71 464 0983

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Original author: Birgit Deibele

Poste Italiane enhances online shopping experience for its users providing Masterpass as a payment option for the new Postepay App 

Barcelona, Spain – March 1, 2017 – At Mobile World Congress, taking place in Barcelona, Mastercard and Poste Italiane announce that the Postepay App has integrated Masterpass, Mastercard’s global digital platform for online payments that eliminates the need to enter detailed payment and shipping information with every purchase.

Masterpass is now integrated in the new Postepay App, which had more than 4 million downloads and allows payments of postal transfers, charge phone cards, money transfers and P2P transactions by smartphones. Through Masterpass, the new app will offer the possibility to make simple and fast online purchases to more than 13 millions of Postepay cardholders – representing the 25% of e-commerce in Italy.

“Italians are relying more and more on their mobile devices for everyday purchases and they are looking for simple, fast and safe payment solutions. Our collaboration with a prestigious partner such as Poste Italiane will enhance customers’ shopping opportunities through Masterpass and will support the digitization of millions of users in Italy,” affirmed Paolo Battiston, Division President Italy & Greece of Mastercard. 

“The Postepay App is part of the Poste Italiane digital innovation strategy. Through Masterpass integration in the app, we aim to offer innovative, simple and safe online payments solutions and technological services supporting e-commerce to our clients and Postepay cardholders, which include a wide range of Italian young population.” explained Marco Siracusano, Poste Italiane.

As the share of digital payments in Europe continues to reach 38% of payments by 2020, Masterpass is the only solution offering benefits to consumers and retailers, enabling fast, simple and secure digital payment experiences across devices and channels – online, in-app and in-store.

With Masterpass, users can create a free account through their bank and tailor it to store all payment information. Any subsequent transaction will be authenticated in a click, eliminating repetitive actions and speeding up the payments process.

Masterpass is an omni-channel platform for digital payments supporting all trades and responding to different experiences of both merchants and consumers; it’s available to hundreds of thousands of merchants online or in-app. In June 2016, Masterpass was accessible to 200 million consumers across 33 countries.

Download our Mobile World Congress 2017 app or find a complete list of Mastercard news announcements in our Digital Press Kit. Check out our Periodic Table of Payments to brush up on your payments knowledge. Follow us @MastercardNews or by using the hashtag #MWC17 to join the conversation.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry.  We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.  Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone.  Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, @MastercardIT, join the discussion on the Cashless Conversations Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau. 

Poste Italiane:

The Poste Italiane Group represents the largest infrastructure network in Italy providing logistic and postal services, savings and payments, insurance and digital communication. Thanks to technological skills and its strong presence in the country, Poste Italiane is offering a range of products and solutions increasingly broad and tailored to citizens’ and customers’ needs and implementing innovative program for the e-commerce. 

Contacts: 

Mastercard

Giuliana Abbate, Tel +39 06 49259223, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

FleishmanHillard

Laura Meroni, Tel +39 02 31804 707, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Edoardo Grandi, Tel + 39 02 31804 710, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Monica Vinco, Tel +39 02 31804 705, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ilaria Carfì, Tel +39 02 31804 709, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Poste Italiane S.p.A. – Press Office

Pierpaolo Cito

Responsabile Ufficio Stampa

Tel. +39 0659589008

Cell. +39 3351823403

Mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Original author: Giuliana Abbate

As national partner, Mastercard joins elite group of organizations supporting startup and small business success in Canada

OTTAWA – Tuesday, February 28, 2017 – Startup Canada, the national rallying community and voice for Canada’s 2.3 million entrepreneurs, today announced Mastercard as a national partner supporting startup and small business success in Canada. Mastercard will integrate its innovation and payments
technology expertise into Startup Canada’s programming in 2017 to support the growth and success of Canada’s small business and startup communities.

“It is imperative for industry, entrepreneurs and government to work together to build innovative companies in Canada,” said Victoria Lennox, CEO and Co-Founder of Startup Canada. “As more and more companies contribute to the exchange of ideas between the private sector and Canada’s startup community, we can encourage greater innovation and small business success. Mastercard has shown commitment to this goal and we are proud to partner on
initiatives that will have substantial, meaningful impact on Canada’s entrepreneurship community.”

”Our commitment to innovation in Canada starts with supporting the business owners and risk-taking entrepreneurs who are creating the jobs of the future,” said Brian Lang, President of Mastercard in Canada. “As a global business with a proud 40-year history in Canada, we look forward to sharing our expertise and resources with Startup Canada’s broad audience of startups and small business owners from coast to coast.”

Mastercard is the presenting sponsor of #StartupGov, a new Startup Canada initiative bringing together a community of public servants, politicians, entrepreneurs and innovators to solve challenges. Programming for #StartupGov in 2017 will launch during International Women’s Day on March 8 at a networking event featuring the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Nicole Verkindt, Founder of the OMX and Rosemary Chapdelaine, Vice President of Lockheed Martin Canada as guest speakers. Jennifer M. Sloan, Vice President of Public Policy for Mastercard in Canada will deliver opening remarks.

Mastercard is also the presenting sponsor of the 2017 Startup Canada Awards, the hallmark event celebrating Canada’s entrepreneurship community, and Startup Canada Day on the Hill, the most influential entrepreneurial event in Canada wherein 1,500 top innovators, entrepreneurs, industry and government decision makers convene to apply an entrepreneurial lens to policy. Applications for the 2017 Startup Canada Awards are now open, and tickets for Startup Canada Day on the Hill will go on sale later this Spring.

Mastercard, Startup Canada and Intuit Canada will together help train 10,000 entrepreneurs on financial literacy through the Startup Foundations Finance Bootcamps program; and Mastercard will provide finance, transaction, payment and fraud education through a number of Startup Canada’s programs including #StartupChats, a bi-weekly Twitter Program.

About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is the national rallying community and voice for Canadian entrepreneurs. Through flagship programs, digital platforms, and cross sector partnerships between entrepreneurs, private sector, and government, Startup Canada offers training, resources, and a peer network to give every entrepreneur equal opportunity for success. To learn more, visit www.startupcan.ca.

About Mastercard
Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardCAnws, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

For more information, contact:

Kathryn Forrest
VP Communications, Policy and Research at Startup Canada
1-613-627-0787 ext. 106
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Lauren Mostowyk
North America Communications, Mastercard
416-365-6697
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Original author: Lauren Mostowyk

Masterpass and Getir simplify the shopping experience. Now, they allow consumers to shop anytime with any device without leaving the Facebook Messenger chat screen. Masterpass, the Mastercard digital payment solution and Getir, the pioneer of mobile retail, now offer a brand new shopping payment convenience in Turkey. With this new game changer solution, you can use Getir’s bot for Messenger to choose products, place an order, and now make payments easier and secure…all without ever leaving the chat window. 

Barcelona – March 1, 2017 – With Masterpass, Mastercard and Getir present a seamless and secure “conversational commerce payment solution”. You can now chat with a bot and get 10 minute delivery from Getir’s 600+ everyday items via bot for Facebook Messenger, all while making seamless one-click payments through Masterpass.

With Masterpass payment technology and Getir’s unique delivery model (1 million deliveries as of January 2017), the two technology companies have streamlined the act of shopping.

This technological cooperation was done with the collaboration of Turkish company Getir and, for the first time in the world, Masterpass.

A first in the world through Masterpass, from Turkey

With this new technological development, you can use Getir’s bot for Facebook Messenger to choose products, place an order, and make payments…all without ever leaving the chat window. All you have to do is type “Getir” in the search section on Facebook Messenger, chat with an intelligent bot, and finally make a secure payment through Masterpass.

Available in more than 34 countries around the world, Masterpass offers a safe and easy digital payment platform for consumers to make online and in-app purchases at more than 340,000 merchants, and at more than 6 million merchant locations in approximately 80 countries that accept contactless payments.

Download our Mobile World Congress 2017 app or find a complete list of Mastercard news announcements in our Digital Press Kit. Check out our Periodic Table of Payments to brush up on your payments knowledge. Follow us @MastercardNews or by using the hashtag #MWC17 to join the conversation.

About Getir

Getir is a one-of-a-kind mobile retailer that delivers 600+ everyday items in an average of 10 minutes throughout Istanbul. With the average of 10 minutes, Getir is the fastest delivery app in the world. Launched in July 2015, Getir has made more than 1 million deliveries.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry.  We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.  Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone.  Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau. 

Media Contact

Selin Selimoglu

+90 (212) 3507748

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Original author: Selin Selimoglu

Aiming to advance inclusive growth through digital technology and insights

BARCELONA, Spain – March 1, 2017 – At Mobile World Congress, Mastercard and Unilever today announced a strategic partnership to collaborate on a range of joint initiatives aimed at empowering small and micro businesses in emerging markets. By combining their expertise and reach, the companies intend to unlock economic growth and further advance specific Sustainable Development Goals such as poverty reduction and sustainable cities and communities.

According to the World Bank, there are somewhere between 365 and 445 million micro-, small and medium enterprises in the developing world, representing the economic backbone of many local communities. Yet, the true potential for these businesses remains untapped. Some of the biggest barriers for their further growth include limited market information, poor access to money, and a lack of financial management skills.

Matching Unilever distribution network with digital payments from Mastercard

By matching up Unilever’s network of distributors in developing countries with digital payment and acceptance solutions from Mastercard, technology resources will be activated to drive inclusive growth at greater scale.

As a first step, Mastercard and Unilever will explore ways to enable better access to formal financial tools for smaller retail outlets while also building entrepreneurship capacity, particularly for women and girls. Additional focus areas may include joint efforts to increase the usage of electronic payments across both wholesale and retail locations.

“Too many small merchants and micro entrepreneurs are stuck, like their customers, in a cash economy that doesn’t work for them,” said Ajay Banga, president and CEO, Mastercard. “With Unilever, we can bring a unique combination of technology and know-how to help these shop owners build a better future and serve their customers who are themselves on a path towards financial inclusion.”

Paul Polman, Chief Executive, Unilever added: “Strategic partnerships such as this are critical to helping us improve our business and positively impact the lives of 5.5 million people by 2020. By working together, we can have a much greater impact in emerging markets, empowering small scale enterprises and bringing about the transformative change necessary to meet the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals and our business.” 

First pilot project in Kenya

In Kenya, the companies are jointly designing a program to enable sustainable growth of small retail entrepreneurs. By digitizing the processes of buying supplies and selling goods small vendors will gain access to low-interest credit. This will empower them to better answer shopper demand and grow their business while upskilling themselves through basic insight tools.

Download our Mobile World Congress 2017 app or find a complete list of Mastercard news announcements in our Digital Press Kit. Check out our Periodic Table of Payments to brush up on your payments knowledge. Follow us @MastercardNews or by using the hashtag #MWC17 to join the conversation.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry.  We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.  Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone.  Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. It has 169,000 employees and generated sales of €52.7 billion in 2016. Over half of the company’s footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Wall’s, PG Tips, Ben & Jerry’s,  Magnum and Lynx.

Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan commits to:

Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020. Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030. Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.

Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2016 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index, it achieved the highest environmental score of 5. It led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the 2016 GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey for the sixth year running. Unilever was ranked the most sustainable food and beverage company in Oxfam’s Behind the Brands Scorecard in 2016 for the second year.

For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com. For more information on the USLP:  www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/  

Mastercard Communications Contact
Bernhard Mors, + 1 914 325 9676
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Unilever Communications Contact

Laura Misselbrook, + 44 7825 049 163

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Original author: Bernhard Mors