New centre will create jobs and accelerate innovation in digital and cyber security, AI and IoT
Mastercard today unveiled its new Intelligence and Cyber Centre in Vancouver, Canada. The centre will expand the company’s Canadian presence by creating and maintaining a total of 380 jobs, and accelerate innovation in digital and cyber security, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. The new space in Vancouver will become one of six global technology centres for Mastercard and will develop cyber solutions for the payments ecosystem globally.
“Ensuring payments are both convenient and secure has always been a top priority for Mastercard,” said Ajay Banga, president and chief executive officer of Mastercard. “The Vancouver centre will help us meet the growing demand for technology solutions to reduce the cost of cyber-attacks, enable today’s connected devices to become tomorrow’s secure payment devices, and address the growing vulnerabilities associated with the Internet of Things.”
The Vancouver centre is being launched in partnership with the Government of Canada through its Strategic Innovation Fund, with an additional $510 million investment by Mastercard.
“As Canadians use connected devices more and more, including for sensitive financial services like banking, they want to know that their data and privacy are protected,” said The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “Our government is investing in a new cybersecurity centre in Canada to develop the technology solutions Canadians and people all over the world need to protect their personal and financial information when they use their devices. This will make Canada a world leader in cybersecurity and help us tackle the cost of cybercrime in Canada—an estimated $3 billion a year.”
This expansion is the latest in a series of investments by Mastercard in Canada , reinforcing the company’s commitment to supporting Canadian innovation and technology talent. In 2017, Mastercard acquired Vancouver-based NuData Security and last year, Toronto-based Ethoca, bringing together best-in-class solutions across biometrics and fraud resolution to drive greater security in the digital space.
“Expanding our presence in Canada allows us to tap into the country’s talented workforce and thriving technology ecosystem, to help bring innovations to market even faster,” Banga added.
Located in The Exchange office tower in the restored Old Stock Exchange building, the Vancouver centre is currently home to the NuData Security team with added members from Mastercard’s Research & Development, Operations & Technology, and Cyber & Intelligence divisions. The investment will open roles for software engineers, data scientists, project managers, analysts, product designers and information security experts. The centre will complement Mastercard’s Canadian headquarters in Toronto and its global technology centres in New York, St. Louis, India (Pune-Vadodara), Dublin and Sydney.
Press release from Mastercard.com