Mastercard launched virtual card solutions for B2B payments
With consumer card fees under pressure from regulators and merchants, Mastercard is pushing hard into B2B payments. The card giant has launched Mastercard Track Instant Pay which is a virtual card solution that uses machine learning and straight-through processing enabling instant payment of suppliers invoices.
The service is integrated with Mastercard Track Business Payment Service which is a open-loop B2B network virtual card solution offering greater choice, efficiency and automation for buyers and suppliers to streamline and speed up business payments, the company said.
“Delayed payments create significant challenges for businesses financially and operationally, especially in today’s environment,” said Ron Shultz, executive vice president, New Payment Flows, North America at Mastercard.
Last week, B4B Payments announced that it will offer Mastercard prepaid cards while in the North American market last year, Mastercard and Jeeves teamed up to offer commercial cards for Mexico.
Adding further, Shultz said, “Track Instant Pay helps solve these pain points by enabling buyers and suppliers to automate their manual payment processes, unlocking valuable time, working capital and choice”.
The company in a press note said that this solution is designed for ‘slow and inefficient’ payment processes which create challenges for businesses. Other things like lengthy payment terms, manual invoice approval and check processing is costly and time consuming for buyers. This is also designed for payment methods such as ACH which is complicated.
“Mastercard Track Instant Pay is the first virtual card solution that can safely and intelligently authorize an immediate payment to a supplier once they submit an invoice”, the press release noted. Using the STP method, the digital payments are sent directly to the supplier’s bank account via Mastercard virtual card and no manual intervention is required.
The solution takes its machine learning capabilities from Previse, an artificial intelligence and data science company. It is available in the US with the company’s plan for international expansion.
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