Mastercard’s Where To Settle platform to offer new features, job listings and apartment rentals
February 20, 2023 | Warsaw, PolandMastercard has released a new, refreshed version of the Where To Settle platform, which allows users to check the cost of living and income opportunities in selected cities and towns in Poland.
In partnership with the Morizon-Gratka Group, users of the platform will now also be able to look at current job and apartment rental offers in locations of their choice. The new, enriched platform is a response to the ever-changing needs of Ukrainian citizens who seek refuge from war and a place to live in Poland, as well as a source of information for Poles.
Smart way to help
The Where To Settle platform, which was first made available in July 2022, was created from the needs that arose from the outbreak of war in Ukraine. In the first few months, it was vital to support refugees in finding a temporary place to live in Poland; most of which ended up in large cities where they were guaranteed the necessary assistance. Many of them however did not plan to stay there - only 12% intended to settle in Warsaw, and 17% in Lodz.
One year on, it is now crucial to help Ukrainians who have settled in Poland become independent, and to support them in achieving stability, and social and economic integration. WhereToSettle.com presents the current cost of living and subsistence in selected cities and towns in Poland, as well as housing and employment opportunities in a given location.
"I am extremely proud that by leveraging our expertise, we can genuinely help Ukrainian refugees find a suitable location that meets their needs in Poland. WhereToSettle.com makes it possible to verify the costs of living and check job opportunities or rentals, and ulitimately find a place to live so that they feel independent and self-reliant. This is by definition – using data for good,” says Bartosz Ciolkowski, General Manager Poland, Mastercard Europe.
“There are two correlating factors - the cost of living and the chances of finding a job - that can dispel many doubts and help refugees make the right decision. For such an analysis however, one needs access to a lot of data from various sources. This is where WhereToSettle.com comes in, at the heart of which is the idea of helping wisely and responsibly, by offering refugees and anyone else who is planning to relocate the opportunity to prepare for the move and make a decision based on real and concrete data,” says Marek Kolano, Director of Data Driven Solutions at Mastercard.
Of those who came to Poland after the war, 4 in 10 have already found employment. 79% have taken a job, but plan to find a better position for themselves, 51% are working in a different profession than before, below their competence, 13% are satisfied with their current job, and 10% are working in their profession, but in a lower position(1).
(1) Professional situation of refugees from Ukraine in Poland Report carried out by Manpower and the Totalizator Sportowy Foundation: www.fundacja.totalizator.pl/aktualnosci/2023/02/raport-sytuacja-zawodowa-uchodzcow-z-ukrainy-w-polsce
About Where To Settle
Where To Settle is a simple and user-friendly tool that does not require registration or login and is adapted for both mobile and desktop devices. After filling out a form on needs and preferences, a visitor to the site can see how much it will cost them approximately to live in another city and compare the results from different locations. Each result is matched to the answers given when completing the form.
Thanks to data from the Morizon-Gratka Group, the tool not only informs the approximate cost of fees, rent or salary, but also displays current employment and apartment rental offers in selected locations. All in one place, the user receives an array of information that can help in making decisions related to further life plans.
Where To Settle is an example of responsible use and analysis of data in the service of society. The data on shopping trends, combined with information from the Central Statistical Office, allows users to look at the real cost of living in various places in Poland and juxtapose it with their own financial capabilities or the prospect of getting a rewarding job.
Where To Settle uses information on consumer spending trends, which is aggregated and anonymised according to Mastercard's secure data processing principles.
The originator and creator of Where To Settle is Mastercard, which designed and implemented the tool in cooperation with the McCann agency. The Morizon-Gratka Group, which provides job and apartment rental offers available on the platform, joined the project. The SpacecampX agency is responsible for technological optimisation of the tool and its analytics. Media planning and buying for the tool's ongoing communication campaign is handled by the Carat media house.
About Mastercard (NYSE: MA)
Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.
