Mastercard has said decided to not ask its employees to return to its worldwide corporate offices until the Covid-19 fear subsides, Reuters reported.

The card issuer may allow its employees to work from home until they are comfortable to return once a vaccine or other measures are in place to curb the virus spread.

Currently, the company is mulling to consolidate its global office, the report added.

Mastercard CPO Michael Fraccaro said: “We expect in the coming weeks and months that more employees will continue to work from home than come into the office and we are ok with that.

“We have stated upfront to all our employees, that it is their choice. We want them to make the decision on when they feel comfortable returning to the office.”

Mastercard, headquartered in New York City (NYC), has nearly 20,000 employees globally.

The company predicts that when the virus subsides its offices may only be nearly 30% full.

Fraccaro added: “Once there is adequate testing and there is a vaccine and people feel comfortable to return, then we may see more. But in the early phases, it will be vastly less than what we had.”

Currently, about 90% of its workforce is operating remotely, including those based in overseas locations including Beijing and Shanghai.

Recently, Visa and American Express also allowed its employees to work from home for the rest of 2020.