MasterCard Promotes Smartcards For Iraqi Welfare Benefits

MasterCard announced that it has entered a partnership with the UN World Food Programme to encourage the use of smartcards for Iraqi welfare programs, reported Finextra. The partnership will commence with a pilot providing electronic food vouchers for the Iraqi Public Distribution System. The details of this introductory pilot will be discussed during a two-day technical workshop including representatives from the Iraqi government, the WPF and MasterCard.

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    The partnership also aims to ready use for acceptance of welfare benefit reforms in Iraq, such as healthcare, education credits and more.

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    “We expect that this workshop and the subsequent national consultative seminar will pave the way to implement a pilot project in specific areas in Iraq to examine the feasibility and benefits of adopting electronic cards to provide Iraqi citizens with an improved service and a food basket that will help improve food security in Iraq and contribute to the growth of our national economy,” said Mahdi M. Al-Alak, deputy minister of planning.

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