Mastercard launches Fintech Express programme for startups in Asia Pacific
Mastercard's Fintech Express is a tailored programme that provides fintechs with what they need most: speed, scale, and performance. It offers access to a cross-functional team of experts across product, partnerships, licensing, and legal domains.
Payments technology company Mastercard has announced the launch of its Fintech Express programme in Asia Pacific. The Fintech Express programme on-boards partners and provides immediate access to a cross-functional team of experts to support multiple work streams across product, partnerships, licensing, and legal.
While announcing the launch, Mastercard also said it had on-boarded B2B fintech-as-a service provider Rapyd as its first partner in the programme. The company will, through this partnership, help in issuing cards for Rapyd’s corporate clients in Asia Pacific.
Joel Yarbrough (L), Head of APAC, Rapyd, and Rama Sridhar, EVP, Digital and Emerging Partnerships, Asia Pacific Mastercard, at the launch of Fintech Express.
Rapyd’s API-based platform provides a wide range of customised payment solutions to regional and global ecommerce merchants, gig economy platforms, and technology providers, helping them to quickly integrate payments and fintech capabilities.
Through Fintech Express, Mastercard said fintechs get access to a suite of digital-first products to differentiate their offerings. Apart from this, as fintechs look to scale globally, Mastercard also provides global licensing support with in-market teams to accelerate growth and execution.
“With the launch of Fintech Express, a tailored programme that provides fintechs with what they need most - speed, scale, and performance - Mastercard is celebrating a new milestone in our fintech journey. Speed is absolutely critical in the Asia-Pacific region, a dynamic hotbed for ambitious startups that are transforming the payments landscape,” said Rama Sridhar, Executive Vice President, Digital & Emerging Partnerships and New Payment Flows, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.
Speaking to YourStory, Rama said Mastercard was also actively looking at India for its Fintech Express programme.
According to the technology and card network behemoth, the differentiation of its Fintech Express programme lies in the suite of products it offers, and the fact that it enables cross-border payments and provides network security.
Fintech Express is the newest pillar under the Mastercard Accelerate platform.
Mastercard’s Accelerate programme is designed to support the ambitions of players in the fintech sector through tailored support arrangements, including access to insight, tools, technology, and investment to support innovation.
Apart from Fintech Express, Mastercard’s Accelerate programme includes Mastercard Engage, a programme that Identifies qualified technology partners and fintechs, connecting them to thousands of Mastercard partners and customers; Mastercard StartPath, which Invites later-stage startups to participate in a six-month programme, providing opportunities to scale and secure strategic investments.; and finally Mastercard Developers, which helps provide APIs for everything, empowering engineers with the ability to access Mastercard payment, security, and analytics services.
According to Mastercard, more than 200 companies have already participated in StartPath since its founding in 2014, and those companies have collectively gone on to raise $1.5 billion in capital.
(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)
