Operating bank accounts in the middle of the Indian Ocean might not be a reality for the average Joe, but for years it has been a tedious process for the hundreds of thousands of American servicemen and women in the U.S. Navy.
And while the paying pains for a regular American might have changed from writing checks to picking between Apple Pay or swiping a card, for the men and women serving offshore and in remote posts abroad, it meant collecting checks and converting U.S. dollars.
The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service and the Naval Supply Systems Command partnered with JPMorgan and MasterCard to bring an accountable and easy-to-use funds management program that allowed Marines and sailors to manage money.
Today, the U.S. Navy has given away checks to an electronic funds management system, which powers exclusive debit cards called Navy Cash or Marine Cash that accommodates the multifaceted needs of the Navy’s mobile workforce.
Using the chip and mag stripe, sailors and Marines can now connect to their home bank accounts and gain instant access to personal funds — thereby, allowing them to transfer funds using onboard kiosks and swiping their way across the 210 MasterCard-supported countries in the world.
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