PURCHASE, N.Y.—Mastercard’s next chief executive sees a big opportunity beyond credit cards as the company pushes deeper into real-time payments that run independent of the traditional card rails. The company has also announced a new partnership and added A2A payments.
Michael Miebach said the company wants to have “all options on offer,” meaning the ability to connect any payer to payees, regardless of whether the parties are using cards, bank accounts, mobile wallets or other forms of payments, MarketWatch reported.
The company recently announced its Vocalink product was selected to handle settlement and clearing for Canada’s new real-time payments system, called the Real-Time Rail.
“Mastercard acquired Vocalink in 2017 in an attempt to get a bite of the large volume of money flowing on ACH rails,” MarketWatch added.
New Partnership With Sokin
Separately, Mastercard has inked a deal with Sokin, which makes Sokin the principal member and card issuer for Mastercard in Singapore.
Sokin is a financial service provider that offers international payments devoid of commission at a fixed monthly fee. The company helps businesses and customers make payments across more than 200 countries and enables foreign exchange services across over 150 countries and in more than 35 various currencies, The Paypers said.
The new deal further adds to the benefit offered by Sokin’s newly introduced subscription-based payment service, which is expected to be available in the Q1 of 2021.
“The new offering is likely to pave the way for improved payment services as the proprietary technology of Sokin facilitates international money transfers and payments through its peer-to-peer mobile app. In addition, Mastercard’s digital solutions integrated with Sokin’s cost-effective service will help businesses and customers across regions where the partnership is extended, while strengthening their market presence,” The Paypers said.
A2A Payments Added
In addition, Mastercard has added account-to-account (A2A) payments functionality to its Track business payment service.
The card association says the new feature builds on its multi-rail strategy to modernize business payments, solving a persistent pain point for buyers and suppliers.
A2A functionality means firms can exchange data with greater efficiency, with payments across multiple payment rails including Real Time Payments and the ACH in the United States, FinExtra said.
“Today, the vast majority of B2B payments are made through bank account transfers. Extending Mastercard Track Business Payment Service to support these transfers is a step on our way to building out the best and most secure B2B payment network in the world," said James Anderson, EVP, global commercial and B2B solutions, Mastercard.
The functionality is already available in the US, with the rest of the world following by the end of 2021. Cross border payments are also set to arrive next year, FinExtra said.