Mastercard Employees Can Work From Home Until Pandemic Is Under Control

Mastercard Inc. MA is reassessing its real estate needs and letting employees work from home until the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control.

What Happened

The world’s second-largest payment processor is allowing employees to work from home until the pandemic is under control, or vaccines and other measures are available. Mastercard is also considering a consolidation of its offices, reported Reuters.

Michael Fraccaro, chief people officer at Mastercard, said, “We expect in the coming weeks and months that more employees will continue to work from home than come into [the] office,” adding, “And we are OK with that. We support that choice.”

Why It Matters

Mastercard employs 20,000 people around the world. The company has created a “future of work” task force to provide guidance on how to manage its employee and real estate requirements, reported Reuters.

Fraccaro disclosed that 90% of Mastercard’s global workforce is operating remotely. Employees working at the offices must follow social distancing norms, wear masks, and undergo temperature checks.

Mastercard rivals American Express Company AXP and Visa Inc. V are also encouraging employees to continue working from home.

Companies such as Twitter Inc. TWTR, Facebook Inc. FB and Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG are allowing employees to work from home as well. 

Mastercard Price Action

Mastercard shares traded 0.40% higher at $300 in the after-hours session on Wednesday. The shares had closed the regular session 2.85% higher at $298.80.