Mastercard invests in the oldest fintech in the world – the beehive

• Mastercard grows digitalisation of farming and food SMEs to support pollination and save the lives of 60 billion bees in Bulgaria
  
  
• Pollenity farming SME marketplace launches a digital wallet that tokenizes every transaction with Mastercard and makes honey a currency for priceless experiences
  
  

Motivated by the urgent need to support the beekeeping industry in Bulgaria, Mastercard and Bulgarian technology company Pollenity have launched a loyalty program that effectively turns money into honey.  

Users will be able to tokenize each of their honey purchases, beehive adoptions and transactions on the marketplace platform www.istinskimed.bg, to earn HoneyDrops - a ‘bee currency.’

HoneyDrops are earned through each purchase with a Mastercard and stored in a ‘HoneyPot’ (digital wallet) which can then be spent on rural tourism experiences, such as farm visits, stays at mountain guesthouses, and workshops, as well as other products on the site.

The program aims to further boost beehive adoptions and meaningful transactions, so that Mastercard cardholders can continuously support a selected bee-farming SME and save 60,000 bees per beehive each year.

“Bees have long been a symbol of industriousness, productivity and order, with each bee contributing to the colony’s well-being,” says Vanya Manova, Country Manager of Mastercard in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo.

“With Pollenity, we’re taking that model and applying it to the agricultural small business sector, creating a sustainable ecosystem where every player contributes to a healthy future.”

Three years ago, Mastercard became the largest partner of Pollenity and supported its expansion in other countries in the region. This contributes to Mastercard’s global commitment to help 50 million SMEs by 2025, through providing tools and investments for them to thrive in the digital economy.

“In a country where the bee population is disappearing exponentially, we are proud to be providing beekeepers with direct access to and support from hundreds of thousands of consumers, who can purchase quality honey by tracking its origin from the beehive to the table,” says Sergey Petrov, Founder of Pollenity.

“Upgrading our current marketplace offering with the honeypot will further benefit beekeepers and their bees, of which the future of the global economy and nature depends on.”

Adopting a beehive and shopping for honey from the platform is an easy step anyone can take, and may be the sweetest way to save the world.

To join the platform, register your Mastercard at www.istinskimed.bg/priceless/ and start a HoneyPot bee investment portfolio of products and experiences.