So I was driving into work a few days ago when I heard MasterCard talk about their priceless causes campaign.
Apparently every year they choose a charity they are going to help and in a bid to raise money for them, they launch campaigns to try and get additional support from their customers.
OK, so you could argue this is a blatant attempt to look less like a bunch of money-hungry bastards, but it’s better than nothing, so we’ll let that pass.
But I’ll tell you what I won’t let pass and that’s them placing a limit on how much they are willing to donate.
Yep, even though they call this program ‘Priceless Causes’, the reality is they do have a price and in the case of their chosen charity, STAND UP TO CANCER, it’s 4 million dollars.
Oh it gets even worse than that …
First is the fact that 4 million is the maximum they’ll pay out and given the criteria they have stated to make a donation, there’s a chance they’ll get a way with a lot less.
Then there’s the fact their donations are directly linked to their customers spending [on their MasterCards of course] you could say every cent they hand over [and they’re literally giving 1 cent for every $10 spent] is coming from their customers pocket rather than theirs.
Why didn’t someone say anything?
Sure, the potential of 4 million dollars is a good thing … but apart from the fact the CEO of MasterCard was paid over $15 million dollars in 2015, it’s pretty shit to talk about ‘Priceless Causes’ and then put a price on it.
I should be happy about this campaign.
I should be glad a financial institution is doing something good for others.
And yet I’m left with the overwhelming impression that all they’re doing is stealing from the pockets of society. Again.