For Mastercard, Financial Inclusion is not only the brand purpose, but business strategy. The more people have access to economic opportunity, the better for them, the world, and Mastercard. This campaign fits perfectly Mastercard’s commitment: “Doing well, by doing good”, to leverage data responsibly in the service of society. With Where to Settle project Mastercard shows efforts to help refugees from Ukraine and stabilise the lives of those who are settling in Poland.

Following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, almost 10 million refugees from occupied territories have crossed the Polish border. Poland has welcomed more Ukrainian refugees than other nations. Many Ukrainians were looking for shelter in major Polish cities that were overcrowded, causing rental hikes, increased competition for jobs — all amid an unprecedented rise in inflation. It became evident that to deal with the increasing stream of refugees, the movement had to be redirected to smaller cities.

Despite the fact that the campaign was launched in Poland, majority of materials incl. Platform and digital campaign was targeted to Ukrainian refugees residing or wishing to come to Poland. Thus, the core of the campaign was created and implemented in Ukrainian.

Besides the core campaign, some additional activities directed to local Polish communities were launched – including a toolkit – created to help smaller cities and communities to attract Ukrainian refugees to settle.

To answer the issue, we came up with “Where to Settle” tool. The tool is based on Mastercard’s anonymized data and available data from the Polish Central Statistical Office. The unique data collected by Mastercard allowed to create a platform that reliably presents the cost of living in cities of different sizes in Poland. The tool leverages personalized data without the need to leave sensitive data on the site. By filling out a simple anonymous form, based on actual situation, location and needs, tool gives every refugee customized, condensed and crucial information. The “Where To Settle” digital platform from Mastercard aims to alleviate these challenges by showing refugees the most promising areas in Poland to make their new homes and best suit a person's abilities and needs.

In the first months after the war started, as much as 34% of refugees were unable to decide where to live in Poland. It deepened their despair and made it difficult for them to become independent. Over time, the focus shifted towards looking for a place where they could feel at home.

We knew that finding a place to live was fundamental, but it wasn’t everything. Another essential thing a refugee needs is a job.

That brought us to the idea of creating a platform which offers real support to the refugees, helping them to find a place to live in smaller, less-known towns, and support them in finding a satisfactory job too. Moreover, the idea was to marry refugees’ needs with those of local communities – the opportunities and benefits they provide. The strategy gave us a chance to deal with concerns about refugees and their influence on communities.

“Where To Settle” platform created in cooperation with Morizon-Gratka Group, part of the biggest Polish news organization providing job and apartment rental offers. The comprehensive digital tool aggregates Mastercard’s spending insights and customized data from the Polish Central Statistical Office. It asks those looking for new homes to input information such as preferred employment, family size and more. It then provides average cost of living, salary, housing and economic opportunities in various parts of the country, ultimately showing individuals and families the places where they will be most likely to thrive. The Polish government and the Association of Polish cities, the oldest Polish organization of local governments, are supporting and promoting the tool. Digital and SoMe campaign features locals from various Polish cities inviting refugees to their towns and showing them the highlights and hotspots from each area. The campaign was targeted at all Ukrainian refugees staying in major cities.

1. We introduced the engaging platform delivering valuable support to people in refugee crisis:

a. We attracted 242,17k UU to the platform, and 73,7k to fill-in completed forms. Basing on data form Where to Settle and number of Ukrainian refugees in Poland, we estimate that even 20,05%* refugees benefited from the platform!

2. “Where to settle” also significantly lifted Mastercard’s perception on such important factors as “technological” +12 (UA), “modern” +14 (UA) and “social” + 14 (PL) + 11 (UA)

3. We lifted Mastercard’s ‘usage intent’ within crucial from business perspective group of “non-users”. 57% of Poles and 80% of Ukrainian declare usage intent after contact with the platform.

*thanks to forms from the platform, we know that among users the average family was 4,08 persons large. It gives 300 696 persons who benefited from the platform – 20,05% of Ukrainian refugees (estimated 1,5mln).

At the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the inhabitants of Poland mobilized and rushed to the border with humanitarian aid. Often involving private cars and funds. Without waiting for official help from polish government institutions, they started the process of helping refugees, often taking them into their own apartments in big cities. Over time, it became clear that systemic and long-term solutions were needed helping not only Ukrainian refugees but also Polish economy, which began to enter a recession caused by the war.