NEW YORK—MasterCard has entered the P2P space with the introduction of MasterCard Send this week.
The real-time personal payments service links to debit card accounts to send funds to consumers domestically and internationally, the company stated in a release.
“Through a single connection to the MasterCard Send platform, businesses, merchants, governments, non-profits, issuers and other senders can send money to consumers whether they are banked or unbanked, and located domestically or abroad…,” the company said. “This includes the receipt of funds on MasterCard and non-MasterCard cards, into mobile money and bank accounts, and via cash agent outlets.”
The company said that MasterCard Send is designed to align with the guidelines outlined in the Federal Reserve’s initiative focused on enhancing the speed, security and efficiency of the U.S. Payments System.
“This unique platform will enable disbursements and person-to-person payments to and from virtually any U.S. debit card account, including non-MasterCard debit cards,” MasterCard explained. “MasterCard Send is the only personal payments service that can reach virtually all U.S. debit card accounts and enable funds to be sent and received typically within seconds – far superior to existing solutions that either limit transfers within a closed-loop network or involve ACH, which can take several days for funds to be received.”
Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard said the payments solution provides faster clearing of payments, and “delivers a better user experience for senders and receivers alike.”