Targeting fintechs serving the fast-growing ranks of U.S. gig workers, Mastercard has formed a partnership with a portable-benefits provider Stride to help users find health, dental and vision care.
Two fintechs — Mobility Capital Finance and gig-worker app Jobble — will be the first to offer Stride’s insurance-recommendation platform to gig economy workers, Mastercard said.
The announcement marks the first time a payments network has offered a path to buying health insurance benefits, Mastercard said in a press release Thursday.
San Francisco-based Stride, which launched in 2013, provides a platform streamlining the selection process for consumers looking for health, dental and vision insurance. Mastercard said its partners will have the option to integrate their cards into the purchasing process on Stride’s platform beginning next year.
Stride simplifies the selection of affordable insurance, discounted telemedicine and prescriptions and concierge services for consumers facing benefit selection, annual open enrollment, invoices and payments, according to the release.
MoCaFi, a New York-based African American-owned fintech targeting unbanked and underbanked consumers, provides a mobile bank account anchored to a Mastercard debit card. Jobble, which is based in Boston, serves 2 million on-demand workers in the delivery, warehouse, grocery and restaurant industries who receive wages through its app.
“The role of the gig and independent worker is increasingly relevant to our economy, as more and more people rely on digital tools and platforms to fulfill requests and facilitate tasks,” Jess Turner, Mastercard’s executive vice president of products and innovation, said in the release.
Most health insurance plans Stride markets cost $75 to $100 a month, the release said.
