After helping to connect one billion people and approximately 65 million small businesses to the digital economy in the last decade, global payments company Mastercard has committed to connecting another 500 million people and small businesses by 2030.

This initiative, the company said, will help to provide financial resilience to more of the over two billion people who remain either underbanked or unbanked globally.

“Financial health doesn’t happen all at once,” Jon Huntsman,vice chair and president of strategic growth at Mastercard, and Jorn Lambert, chief product officer, said in a news release this week. “It’s a journey, from obtaining a payment credential and building transaction history to accessing more advanced services like credit, loans or insurance that help people absorb shocks and manage risks.

“Paths may differ, but secure infrastructure, confident digital engagement, and an expanding credit profile are what make financial resilience possible,” they added.

As part of ongoing efforts, Mastercard said it plans to expand its Essential Debit and Essential Prepaid programmes — now live in Nigeria and Colombia — to additional markets in the coming months. The company will also scale its acceptance and issuance solutions for small businesses as it deepens support for digital wallets and ecosystem partners and provide tools to help small businesses better understand and manage cybersecurity risks.

Additionally, the payment company’s recent launch of the Global Financial Health Coalition, which brings together financial institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), telecommunications companies, wallet providers and other industry leaders, will further help to promote healthy financial behaviour and long-term resilience for consumers and small businesses.

Announced last November, the coalition aims to empower users who leverage digital tools to improve their financial well-being.

“Mastercard’s role is to build the infrastructure that enables the digital economy to work for everyone — through innovation, partnerships, and our global network,” the executives said.

In another move aimed at strengthening financial resilience, Mastercard in February launched a money movement partnership with mobile communications and connectivity company Ericsson, as it further seeks to help telecom service providers, banks and fintechs expand their digital wallet capabilities, introduce new payment services and serve more of the globe’s unbanked and underbanked communities.