OREANDA-NEWS. December 10, 2015. National Urban League has partnered with MasterCard to promote financial literacy in underserved communities, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial announced today.

“Economic empowerment requires a thorough understanding of financial transactions,” Morial said. Noting that fewer than 50 percent of Black families own their own homes. More than half have no investments and only about a third have savings accounts. “There is a critical need within the African-American community for programs like MasterCard’s that help consumers maximize their money and small business grow.”

The MasterCard “Master Your Card” community empowerment initiative will reinforce existing financial education activities at the National Urban League.

“As a company, we’ve seen first-hand the impact that access to and use of the right tools and services can have in empowering people and bringing them into the financial mainstream,” said Tim Murphy, general counsel and chief franchise officer of MasterCard. “I’m honored to bring the insights and experiences from our global organization to help the National Urban League support consumers’ efforts to live productive, rewarding lives.”

Murphy was recently elected as a National Urban League Trustee.

Since its inception, the Master Your Card program has worked hand-in-hand with community leaders to identify the challenges facing the underserved and to create solutions that enable them to enter the financial mainstream.

The group’s advisory boards collaborated in the development of the MasterCard payroll card standards, a set of minimum requirements ensuring that consumers receive greater insight on how to access their pay through educational resources and increased transparency of any fees.