Trans and video sexsnon-binary people in states like Illinois, Arizona, and Florida will soon have the option to choose the first name they want on their payment cards without it having to match their legal name.
Mastercard partnered with the Chicago-based bank BMO Harris, which has branches in eight states, and Superbia Credit Union, a new Michigan-based credit union that will serve and advocate for LGBTQ people across the country, to offer this option, called True Name. BMO Harris is planning to roll out this feature in December on its personal ATM and debit cards. Superbia will follow next sometime in 2020.
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Almost one-third of transgender people who show IDs with conflicting information were insulted, denied service, asked to leave a store, or physically harmed, according to a survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality, a transgender advocacy organization.
Mastercard announced this initiative back in June, during Pride Month, but revealed the BMO Harris and Superbia programs on Friday. Mastercard envisions expanding the option to even more banks in the future.
Customers won't be required to change their legal names when applying for these cards. But they do have to apply for the cards with their legal name because banks need this information to verify people's identities.
SEE ALSO: 10 brands that tried too hard during Pride Month in 2019This a big deal — more than two-thirds of transgender people don't have an ID that matches their preferred name and gender and almost one-third can't afford to change their name because of the often prohibitive cost, which can range from less than $100 to $2,000, the National Center for Transgender Equality found in their survey.
"The more forms of identification — including financial documents — we make contingent upon legal name changes, the more frequently transgender people are forced to out themselves when doing something as simple as buying a coffee," Gillian Branstetter, a spokeswoman for the National Center for Transgender Equality, wrote in an email. "This [True Name initiative] is a positive step for any financial institution to take and a recognition of the right of every person to have control over their own information."
Topics LGBTQ Social Good