Mastercard

The card brand has been pitching itself as a testing ground for central bank digital currencies, a payment portal for stablecoins and — most recently — an accelerator for startups.

Startups focused on crypto and digital assets will now be able to join Mastercard’s Start Path program, which gives fledgling companies access to the network’s executives and technology to help them grow, Mastercard said.

The bank has agreed to act as a payment agent for the card brand's Track BPS to sign up participating businesses in the U.K. and Europe.

The Reserve Bank of India says the card brand failed to comply with a requirement to store transaction details locally. The handling of payment information has become a point of contention between the Asian nation and American firms.

The technology holds great promise for financial services, but it could be just as powerful for scammers looking to break payment card encryption. Visa, Mastercard and others are already building new defenses.

The card network and telco are designing systems that use 5G to support more payment processes hosted in the cloud rather than on local hardware. The goal is to make services such as autonomous checkout available to small businesses.

During lockdown, adoption of services like mobile order-and-pay, biometric authentication, contactless fare collection and digital currency accelerated. Consumers have more options than ever — and their behaviors will guide further innovation.

Teampay is using the card network's technology, which was first designed for the Apple Card, to offer virtual accounts for corporate spending.

The card brand has added a dedicated lane to its startup program to address the venture funding gap for race and gender. Overall, less than 3% of VC funding goes to startups with Black or Latinx founders.

Global Payments' TSYS subsidiary and BM Technologies will offer the program, which allows transgender and nonbinary consumers to use their preferred name on payment cards.

The Mastercard Foundation will provide $1.3 billion to support the coronavirus vaccination program in Africa, the continent with the lowest inoculation rate.

Republic Bank in Louisville is the first community bank to launch Mastercard's True Name service, which allows customers to display their chosen name on debit cards.

Small businesses are upset at Visa and Mastercard's proposal to raise rates on cross-border payments initiated online, now that the European Commission's caps on credit and debit fees no longer apply in the U.K.

Mastercard will soon bring workers back to its New York City office at least two days a week.

The pandemic spurred millions of merchants to add contactless payments within a year, pushing the number of global stores accepting contactless to 90%, according to new data from Mastercard.

Days after Visa touted its crypto tech and settlement partnership with USD Coin, Mastercard showcased its work with the Central Bank of the Bahamas and supporting innovation such as digital ID.

Days after Visa touted its crypto tech and settlement partnership with USD Coin, Mastercard showcased its work with the Central Bank of the Bahamas and supporting innovation such as digital ID.

It is the largest global treasury bank so far to implement Mastercard’s direct debit service.

Mastercard is buying Ekata, a startup that has been rapidly developing AI-powered digital identity tools that weed out online fraud during the recent surge in e-commerce during the pandemic.

Mastercard is updating the requirements it sets for banks that process payments for sellers of adult content.