> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How Mastercard Saved Africa - URL: https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/how-mastercard-saved-africa/ - Published: 2023-06-09T07:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2025-01-26T05:50:28.000Z - Description: ...and will save you, too - Author: Liam Sturgess - Tags: #blog, Microjourneys *Originally* [*published*](https://www.microjourneys.io/p/how-mastercard-saved-africa) *on Substack by Microjourneys.* # The crisis ends, the passport expands ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6fa9c691-fa57-4778-8b6e-40a9a23f036e_1362x1304.png) **Image source:* [**World Health Organization*](https://www.who.int/news/item/05-06-2023-the-european-commission-and-who-launch-landmark-digital-health-initiative-to-strengthen-global-health-security) On Monday, June 5th, the [**World Health Organization**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/world-health-organization/) and the [**European Commission**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/european-commission/)issued a joint statement [announcing](https://web.archive.org/web/20230608050926/https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH%5F23%5F3085) the introduction of the WHO Global Digital Health Certification Network. What was formerly a vaccine passport system implemented across member states of the European Union will now be reaching across borders, with WHO Director General Tedros and EU Commissioner **Stella Kyriakides** boasting that the “EU Digital COVID certificate is being scaled up to global level.” YouTuber **John Campbell** briefly covered this announcement, and I thought he did a great job highlighting the absurdity of the situation with his wry and somewhat frustrated sarcasm. I recommend [checking his video out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixnqF6vEufA). This may come as a surprise to some, given the fact that the WHO [declared](https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/who-pandemic-not-emergency-1.6833321) the COVID-19 pandemic to be officially “over” exactly one month prior. Clearly, something about the COVID passport system is important enough to carry through into the next phase of “normal.” The timing of this announcement is sort of crazy, as I was just preparing to finish a piece on vaccine passports which may help fill in the historical gaps of how the WHO’s decision to charge ahead could possibly make any sense at all. Let’s dive in. --- # How Mastercard saved Africa Much like everything else in modern life, health data has been undergoing a decades-long process of converting from paper records to digital. Entire industries have been created around this transition, and the surge of innovation has resulted in the formation of several prominent public-private partnerships to explore the legal and ethic implications of putting everybody’s private medical information on the internet. Closely tied with this bigger push to digitize everything, everywhere, is the global use of smart phones for increasingly many functions. But the rapidly-expanding network of digital ID systems, as odd as it sounds, are being set up to work with or without a smartphone, including on cards in the form of traditional ID equipped with specialized chips. ![Visa vs Mastercard: Here's The REAL Difference... - YouTube](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F412711c6-9c9b-45af-a9e6-eb8d0fc590f3_1280x720.jpeg "Visa vs Mastercard: Here's The REAL Difference... - YouTube") [**Mastercard**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/mastercard/)is one of the world’s largest financial services companies, recognizable as one half of a functional payment processing [duopoly](http://archive.today/2022.10.17-164602/https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/08/17/can-the-visa-mastercard-duopoly-be-broken) with its competitor and collaborator, Visa. But less known is its forays into digital identification, and its controversial experiments with its programs in various parts of Africa and other lower-income countries. ### National Identity Smart Cards in Nigeria ![New National-eID-card [PHOTO: amediaagency]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36f1ec3a-11f5-41d4-a7a8-4de1005e729b_1024x619.jpeg "New National-eID-card [PHOTO: amediaagency]") **Image source:* [**Premium Times*](https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/167479-scandalous-outrage-in-nigeria-as-government-brands-national-id-card-with-mastercards-logo.html) In August 2014, the Nigerian Government’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) rolled out a new national ID card branded with Mastercard’s logo. This was [met with outrage](http://archive.today/2023.06.03-205357/https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/167479-scandalous-outrage-in-nigeria-as-government-brands-national-id-card-with-mastercards-logo.html?tztc=1) from Nigerian citizens and civil rights group alike. “The new ID card with a MasterCard logo does not represent an identity of a Nigerian. It simply represents a stamped ownership of a Nigerian by an American company,” said Shehu Sani of the Civil Rights Congress. “It is reminiscent of the logo pasted on the bodies of African salves (sic) transported across the Atlantic.” Just as with the authors of the *Fortune* article from the COVID-19 era (which I discussed in my [previous article](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/blog/liberty-dies-in-your-pocket/)), Nigerian critics of Mastercard’s program “raised the alarm over the implications of the agreement in an age that has seen intense data surveillance by the [National Security Agency](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/national-security-agency/) of the United States of America, MasterCard’s home country.” Specifically, the move “would surrender a symbol of national sovereignty and pride to a foreign commercial organisation by not only sharing the biometrics of 170 million Nigerian (sic) to the firm but by also allowing the firm to boldly engrave its insignia on the IDs.” ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff361f4cc-72c1-4f42-a008-85ca9a793e44_1304x832.png) **Image source:* [**MasterCard via Smart Cities Council*](https://www.smartcitiescouncil.com/sites/default/files/public%5Fresources/Nigerian%20National%20ID%20card%5F0.pdf) Indeed, the Mastercard-branded national ID cards were equipped with multiple capabilities previously separated for security and privacy reasons, such as for tracking and storing biometrics, and “to also allow handlers effect payments and other financial transactions.” Despite being deployed as a pilot project, they were also “expected to serve as voting cards in the 2019 elections,” which were at that point nearly five years away. Further, the “Identity Management Commission said it was working with other government agencies to harmonize all identity databases including the Driver’s License, Voter Registration, Health Insurance, Tax, SIM and the National Pension Commission into a single, shared services platform.” All of this data, according to former Federal Capital Territory Minister **Nasir El-Rufai**, “go to the American payment platform.” Of course, one might also note the dark irony in the company’s name itself, adding what is surely inadvertent insult to injury. After all, this Smart ID program was mandatory, not something a Nigerian citizen could choose to opt in or out of. In addition to the National Identity Management Commission and MasterCard, [partners](https://web.archive.org/web/20230603223403/https://www.smartcitiescouncil.com/sites/default/files/public%5Fresources/Nigerian%20National%20ID%20card%5F0.pdf) on the project included: - **Access Bank** (now Africa’s [largest](https://web.archive.org/web/20220723145016/https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/07/20/access-holdings-leads-tier-1-banks-with-largest-customer-base/) bank) - **Cryptovision** (a digital ID and biometrics company, now called [Eviden](https://www.cryptovision.com/en/welcome/)) - [**Unified Payment Services**](https://web.archive.org/web/20230604001129/https://up-ng.com/)(which is “owned by a consortium of leading Nigerian banks,” and [originally](https://web.archive.org/web/20190706031021/https://businessday.ng/technology/article/inside-nigerias-first-ever-fintech-company/) called SmartCard Nigeria) - **Fidelity Bank Nigeria**, **First Bank of Nigeria**, **Skye Bank**, **Stanbic IBTC Bank**, **Standard Chartered Bank**, **Union Bank**, **United Bank for Africa**, **Unity Bank** and **Zenith Bank** as the first round of “issuing banks.” Note that [MasterCard](http://archive.today/2023.06.03-211345/https://www.weforum.org/organizations/access-bank-plc), [Access Bank](https://archive.ph/uWiOP), [First Bank](https://web.archive.org/web/20221119064254/https://www.weforum.org/organizations/first-bank-of-nigeria-plc), [Standard Chartered Bank](https://archive.ph/x1jOO) and [Zenith Bank](http://archive.today/2022.03.18-012211/https://www.weforum.org/organizations/zenith-bank-plc) are partner organizations of the [**World Economic Forum**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/world-economic-forum/), as is Stanbic’s parent company, [**Standard Bank Group**](http://archive.today/2022.03.22-145506/https://www.weforum.org/organizations/the-standard-bank-group-limited). ![BrandArena: MasterCard to Power Nigerian Identity Card Program](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcfda22-cc85-4ea9-bdfb-ff2c79fe820f_768x512.jpeg "BrandArena: MasterCard to Power Nigerian Identity Card Program") **Image source:* [**BrandArena*](https://www.brandarena.com.ng/2013/05/mastercard-to-power-nigerian-identity.html) As it turns out, this is not merely a passing connection: the National Identity Smart Cards project was officially announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa in May 2013\. In the announcement, NIMC Director General **Chris Onyemenam** explained that MasterCard was their payment provider of choice because of their “commitment to furthering financial inclusion through the reduction of cash in the Nigerian economy.” MasterCard’s President for the Middle East and Africa, **Michael Miebach**, [elaborated](https://web.archive.org/web/20220901060644/https://www.biometricupdate.com/201305/nimc-and-mastercard-announce-nigerian-national-identity-smart-cards), saying the company “has been a firm supporter of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Policy as we share a vision of a world beyond cash.” > The new identity smart card will incorporate the unique National Identification Numbers of duly registered persons in the country. Enrollment involves recording demographic and biographical data as well as the capture of 10 fingerprints, facial image and a digital signature that are used to authenticate the cardholder. It is perhaps alarming for some to consider the scale and scope of data capture involved in MasterCard’s “Smart Cards” program. This followed the plan [announced](https://web.archive.org/web/20221003044346/https://www.biometricupdate.com/201210/100-million-nigerians-to-be-registered-in-new-biometrics-database) by the Nigerian government in 2012 to require “biometric registration that involves capturing and enrolling all detailed information of an individual,” firmly locking in everything from “payment services, transit, identity, economy, health and education.” In January of 2013, the government [announced](https://web.archive.org/web/20220704210713/https://www.biometricupdate.com/201301/nigerian-citizens-to-be-issued-unique-national-identity-numbers) it had “started a comprehensive biometric capture exercise” modelled after the “Aadhaar program initiated by the Unique Identity Authority of India, which similarly aims to capture the biometrics of all of India’s 1.2 billion habitants.” MasterCard’s announcement at the World Economic Forum took place only four months later. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0aafade8-3d24-424b-8ba6-88ead109b88c_2594x1870.png) **Image source:* [**World Economic Forum*](https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-on-africa-2013/partners) Among the other [participants](http://archive.today/2023.06.03-222109/https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-on-africa-2013/partners) at that WEF event were the [**Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/bill-melinda-gates-foundation/), [**Boston Consulting Group**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/boston-consulting-group/)(BCG), **JPMorgan Chase**, **McKinsey & Company**, **Microsoft**, vaccine giant **Novartis** and the **Rockefeller Foundation**. ### Mastercard Wellness Pass In July 2017, Mastercard teamed up with [**Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/gavi-the-vaccine-alliance/)and the **World Health Organization** on a trip to the African nation of Mauritania to conduct an audit of their national immunization program. [Finding](https://web.archive.org/web/20230604203304/https://www.updwg.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Evaluation-Gavi-PSEA-Case-Study-Supplement%5FZipline-Rwanda-1.pdf) that the country had “a high vaccination dropout rate, low household coverage of immunisation cards, incomplete immunisation records at household, facility and programme levels, and erroneous estimates of dropout and coverage rates for some localities,” Mastercard and Gavi agreed to step in and engineer a solution. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ea61462-be1d-40fd-badc-a822352b4a19_1958x828.png) **Image source:* [**Mastercard*](https://archive.ph/2023.03.16-153530/https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/gavi-and-mastercard-join-forces-to-reach-more-children-with-lifesaving-vaccines/) This came in the form of a proposed ‘Mastercard Wellness Pass,’ which was workshopped at subsequent meetings in November 2017 and March 2018\. Gavi received a thumbs up from Mauritania’s Minister of Health at the World Health Assembly in May 2018, and the Wellness Pass was officially [announced](http://archive.today/2023.03.16-153530/https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/gavi-and-mastercard-join-forces-to-reach-more-children-with-lifesaving-vaccines/) to the world on December 11, 2018. Much like Nigeria’s National Identity Smart Cards, the new pass would collect a slew of information on the holder, following them through the rest of their lives. It was described both as “a digital birth certificate” and “a credit card.” The Wellness Pass, however, was explicitly marketed with Gavi as a way to [increase uptake of vaccines](https://web.archive.org/web/20221205205050/https://www.axios.com/2018/12/16/mastercard-gavi-vaccine-partnership-world-poverty), and [would be created](http://archive.today/2021.09.13-171634/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/09/09/fact-check-mastercard-partnership-vaccines-unrelated-finances/5658366002/) for each infant upon receiving their first shot. The pilot project received $3.8 million USD in funding from the **Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation**, and plans were quickly drawn up to expand the program to Burkina Faso, Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique in the following years. ### Mastercard Digital Wellness ![01-B2C-HowItWorks](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F377d1cc7-254c-41db-bff1-a7eed8ed9c6f_685x456.png "01-B2C-HowItWorks") **Image source:* [**Mastercard*](https://web.archive.org/web/20230604005624/https://mastercardcontentexchange.com/news/press/2019/june/mastercard-digital-wellness-program-to-enhance-transparency-security-and-choice-for-online-shopping/) On June 7, 2019, Mastercard [announced](https://web.archive.org/web/20230604005624/https://mastercardcontentexchange.com/news/press/2019/june/mastercard-digital-wellness-program-to-enhance-transparency-security-and-choice-for-online-shopping/) a similarly-named program called **Mastercard Digital Wellness**. Despite what its name may suggest, the program was focused on a suite of digital tools to “enhance transparency, security and choice for online shopping.” ![NuData Security - The Wealth Mosaic](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fde40df2c-b92f-44b2-9090-a71248c56259_2769x687.png "NuData Security - The Wealth Mosaic") **Image source:* [**The Wealth Mosaic*](https://www.thewealthmosaic.com/vendors/nudata-security/) This [included](https://web.archive.org/web/20160215190249/http://www.emvco.com/about%5Femvco.aspx?id=156) integrations with **EMVco** — an alliance formed by Mastercard and several of its competitors including **Visa**, **American Express**, **Discover**, **Japan Credit Bureau** (JCB) and **UnionPay** — and **NuData**, a [subsidiary](https://web.archive.org/web/20201025141902/https://www.pymnts.com/news/partnerships-acquisitions/2017/mastercard-boosts-security-with-acquisition-of-nudata-internet-of-things-iot/) of Mastercard focused on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. ### Mastercard Farm Pass ![Mastercard's Farm Pass to Digitally Connect 15 Million People in Remote Communities - SME & Entrepreneurship Magazine](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc4f098e0-a6e0-4735-b7aa-ddbfa7b48dfe_1920x1080.jpeg "Mastercard's Farm Pass to Digitally Connect 15 Million People in Remote Communities - SME & Entrepreneurship Magazine") **Image source:* [**SME Magazine*](https://sme.asia/mastercards-farm-pass-to-digitally-connect-15-million-people-in-remote-communities/) On September 25, 2019, Mastercard [announced](https://web.archive.org/web/20221128044635/https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/mastercard-and-rabobank-join-to-bring-financial-inclusion-tools-to-1-million-farmers-2/) a strategic partnership with **Rabobank** to expand their **Mastercard Farm Pass** program to “one million farmers in emerging markets” across Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt and India. As later press releases would [elucidate](https://web.archive.org/web/20230604225535/https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2023/mastercard-farm-pass-digital-farming/), the Farm Pass had launched its first pilot back in 2015 in Kenya. ### Mastercard Community Pass ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1e54e913-213e-49c8-a536-769817deee1a_2950x738.png) **Image source:* [**Mastercard*](https://www.mastercard.com/global/en/business/governments/community-pass.html) Then, to tie all of these separate programs together, Mastercard [launched](http://archive.today/2023.06.04-213843/https://www.mastercardcenter.org/insights/shared-solutions-unlock-economic-prosperity-for-communities) their **Mastercard Community Pass** on October 16, 2019\. The platform would be “connected into a broader ecosystem where individuals can be recognized as the same person” when engaging with finance, agriculture, education, housing and healthcare. ### Mastercard’s response to COVID-19 ![Covid-19 Pandemic - Blogs, Stories & Press Releases | Mastercard Newsroom](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e7f3c28-0d10-48b8-80e1-e810a4fa241a_1280x720.png "Covid-19 Pandemic - Blogs, Stories & Press Releases | Mastercard Newsroom") **Image source:* [**Mastercard*](https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/featured-topics/covid-19-response/) On March 10, 2020, Mastercard joined the **Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation** and **Wellcome Trust** in [committing](http://archive.today/2022.01.18-165008/https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/coronavirus-mark-suzman-therapeutics) up to $125 million towards the [creation](http://archive.today/2021.04.25-054406/https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Ideas/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/03/COVID-19-Therapeutics-Accelerator) of the [**COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/covid-19-therapeutics-accelerator/). By the end of March, a number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies announced their participation. Among those [companies](https://archive.ph/8TAzM) were [**BD**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/becton-dickinson/), [**Boehringer Ingelheim**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/boehringer-ingelheim/), [**bioMerieux**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/biomerieux/), **Eli Lilly**, **Gilead Sciences**, **GlaxoSmithKline**, [**Johnson & Johnson**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/johnson-johnson/), [**Merck**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/merck/), **Novartis**, and [**Pfizer**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/pfizer/) — all of whom developed and deployed experimental therapeutics, vaccines and/or diagnostics in response to the declared pandemic. In particular, GSK, J&J, Merck, Novartis and Pfizer all held financial interest in [COVID-19 vaccine](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/covid-19-vaccine/) candidates that would go on to be included in vaccine passport programs like Mastercard’s. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F22b33fe5-6463-4ff5-9452-1feb5ce67773_1438x778.png) **Image source:* [**Mastercard*](https://web.archive.org/web/20230605011329/https://www.mastercard.com/content/dam/public/mastercardcom/na/global-site/public-sector/other/community-pass-health-june2021.pdf) On June 3, 2020, Gavi [announced](http://archive.today/2020.07.18-125751/https://www.gavi.org/news/media-room/private-sector-partners-strengthen-gavi-programmes-more-us-70-million-contributions) that Mastercard would “adapt its Wellness Pass solution for the COVID-19 response.” Its new Wellness Pass for COVID (WP4C) was described as “an upgraded version that allows for identification, enrolment, and tracking of COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 vaccinees.” But the development process of their digital ID wasn’t quite complete. On June 26, Mastercard [revealed](http://archive.today/2020.08.17-154435/https://mastercardcontentexchange.com/perspectives/2020/signed-sealed-encrypted-this-digital-id-is-all-yours/) that a startup called **Trust Stamp** was “working with Mastercard to integrate its digital identity capabilities” into the Wellness Pass, which was finally preparing to launch in earnest alongside Gavi in West Africa. The Wellness Pass would also [integrate](https://web.archive.org/web/20230604191655/https://privacyinternational.org/examples/4083/public-private-partnership-launches-biometrics-identity-and-vaccination-record-system) the AI capabilities of NuData, as previously implemented into the Mastercard Digital Wellness program. ![Trust Stamp on Twitter: "Trust Stamp is thrilled to announce that we have received a strategic investment from @Mastercard as a part of our continued collaboration in the Humanitarian and Development space.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7207b42c-7e4b-4cbb-a601-ba4ceb0299b1_1200x675.jpeg "Trust Stamp on Twitter: "Trust Stamp is thrilled to announce that we have received a strategic investment from @Mastercard as a part of our continued collaboration in the Humanitarian and Development space.") **Image source:* [**Trust Stamp via Twitter*](https://web.archive.org/web/20200131110903/) Trust Stamp was [founded](https://web.archive.org/web/20230604013431/https://investors.truststamp.ai/) in 2016 by Gareth Genner and Andrew Gowasack as a digital identity company. It received early support from the **Plug and Play Tech Center**, a “global innovation platform” based in Silicon Valley. Plug and Play’s investment portfolio includes **Dropbox**, **Honey**, and **PayPal**, as well as **Token**, an “open banking” startup founded by [**Steve Kirsch**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/steve-kirsch/). Interestingly, Token is itself a collaborator of Mastercard. On February 13, 2019, Token [announced](http://archive.today/2023.06.05-234834/https://token.io/press/mastercard-selects-token-io-as-a-partner-for-its-new-open-banking-hub-1) it had been “selected by Mastercard to power the connectivity layer of its open banking hub.” Mr. Kirsch himself weighed in: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c188de2-bc7e-4d15-9a12-e41c069c303c_1420x332.png) **Image source:* [**Token*](http://archive.today/2023.06.05-234834/https://token.io/press/mastercard-selects-token-io-as-a-partner-for-its-new-open-banking-hub-1) Token isn’t Kirsch’s only venture based in the realm of digital ID. In 2011, he founded [**OneID**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/oneid/), a startup that sought to establish “a new kind of ‘single sign-on’ security for the Web” by unifying all of one’s devices to create a multi-layer ID verification system. One [application](https://web.archive.org/web/20230607182405/https://archive.nytimes.com/bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/oneid-aims-to-unite-devices-to-fight-hackers/?%5Fphp=true&%5Ftype=blogs&%5Fr=0) of his idea, for example, is merchants being able to “establish your identity at a checkout stand by holding a phone over a scanner.” OneID was acquired around 2016 by **Neustar**, which itself was [acquired](http://archive.today/2023.06.07-185848/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/transunion-neustar-announce-transaction-close-133500878.html?guccounter=1) by **TransUnion** in December 2021. One of the financial backers behind OneID was [**Khosla Ventures**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/khosla-ventures/), a venture capital firm whose [portfolio](https://web.archive.org/web/20230607220139/https://www.khoslaventures.com/category/therapeutics/) also includes [**Deep Genomics**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/deep-genomics/)([advised](https://web.archive.org/web/20230502153754/https://www.deepgenomics.com/company/) by [Moderna](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/moderna/) alum **Tal Zaks**),[**Square**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/square/)and[**Tile**](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/tile/company%5Ffinancials) — the latter two of which recently made the news following the murder of Bob Lee. [Who Was Bob Lee?Google Android, Square, Cash App, venture capital, Internet of Things, COVID-19 testing, MobileCoin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a2/fe/a2fe3cea-8d77-4702-87d4-ff1fd8934d08/content/images/icon/White-Rose-Logo-Symbol--favicon--22.ico)White Rose IntelligenceLiam Sturgess![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a2/fe/a2fe3cea-8d77-4702-87d4-ff1fd8934d08/content/images/thumbnail/ca7c5d84-7203-40fa-90d7-4240be14ff29_1280x720.webp)](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/blog/who-was-bob-lee/) Plug and Play’s website prominently lists its [partners](https://web.archive.org/web/20230606002503/https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/corporations/partners/) as including **Amazon**, [**Bayer**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/bayer/), **Canada Post**, **Canadian National Railway**, **Facebook**, **Merck**, **Northfolk Southern**, **Pfizer**, **Roche**, the **Society of Actuaries**, **Visa**, **Walmart**, among many others — including, of all things, the **United States Agency for International Development (USAID)**. An [archived version](https://web.archive.org/web/20200505014324/https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/corporations/partners/) of the same webpage reveals that as of at least May 2020, Plug and Play was also partnered with [**AstraZeneca**](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/astrazeneca/), **Johnson & Johnson**, and the **Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation**. Also notable is the **International Air Transport Association** (IATA), who [unveiled](https://archive.ph/bzWzK) their own IATA Travel Pass in response to the declared COVID-19 pandemic. The pass was, indeed, designed as a rather literal vaccine passport, also [incorporating](https://web.archive.org/web/20221008004320/https://elnamedical.com/en/) results of PCR or rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2. ![The IATA Travel Pass rolls out this week. How can you get it? | Condé Nast Traveller India](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb358c2d6-6625-46f9-871f-5009f1bfd823_1366x768.jpeg "The IATA Travel Pass rolls out this week. How can you get it? | Condé Nast Traveller India") **Image source:* [**Condé Nast Traveller India*](https://www.cntraveller.in/story/iata-travel-pass-rolls-next-week-can-get/) ## All-industry approach As we’ve seen, what we’ve come to know as a ‘vaccine passport’ is really just another iteration of a longer series of so-called ‘innovations’ in digital identification. Mastercard is just one unfortunately-named company in this field; the reality is that virtually every industry has taken on the mission of digitization. And with developments in the field of artificial intelligence and the ongoing rollout of the Internet of Things (IoT), we are increasingly in a position where nothing we do in any context can ever be free of intrusion. Once you’re in, there’s no easy way of getting out. This article started as a deep dive into New York’s [Excelsior Pass](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/excelsior-pass/). Mastercard was originally going to be simply a passing reference in the introduction to help set the context for vaccine passports in recent history. I didn’t expect to find such a robust history, and this is just going back to 2013\. The piece was thus split in two, with next week’s Microjourney delving deep into the Excelsior Pass. But even more importantly, we will tackle a very important and thus far under-discussed question: if different regions across the world deployed entirely different versions of a vaccine passport — some limited to paper cards, others going full Green Pass — then is that not a signal that we’re still far off from the full implementation of a global digital passport? And then the World Health Organization and European Commission came out with their announcement that they would immediately be scaling the EU COVID Pass to worldwide use. I couldn’t believe the timing. I promise, I didn’t cause this! But it emphasizes the importance of rapidly building our knowledge of what has been done already, in order to best understand what is likely to come next. ## Sign up for White Rose Intelligence Research and intelligence in defense of liberty Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.