True Name by Mastercard

12/27/24 • 27 min

This episode tells the fascinating, behind-the-scenes story of the launch of True Name by Mastercard. made possible by the courage and unrelenting commitment of Lucas Crigler, the visionary, and Cheryl Guerin, the internal champion at Mastercard. Background: Lucas Crigler, a transgender man, was outed at a New York deli by the female birth name printed on his credit card, which no longer matched his gender identify. Terrified for his safety, Crigler ran out of that deli, returning to his office at a big advertising agency. It just so happened that Crigler was assigned that day to brainstorm Pride ideas for Mastercard. So, Crigler proposed what became known as ‘True Name’ by Mastercard, which allows transgender and non-binary people to use their chosen first name on credit and debit cards. Citi, BMO, and many other banks now offer the Mastercard True Name feature to over 900 million customers in 32 countries.

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