Mastercard program to advance B2B virtual-card adoption

Mastercard appears to be throwing its weight behind business-to-business card uses. The card company disclosed it is simplifying and scaling interactions among banks, platforms and corporates alike with the launch of a new program to accelerate virtual-card adoption.

Virtual cards have been gaining traction in the B2B space as a secure and flexible alternative to traditional cards, with benefits like instant issuance, controlled spending and streamlined reconciliation. New advances in Mastercard's embedded Virtual Card Number (VCN) technology, aim to make commercial card payments as seamless as consumer payments.

For decades, Mastercard has pioneered VCN solutions through its VCN platform, in addition to partnerships and integrations with a diverse network of platform partners. Mastercard said it is already partnering with enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms to deliver VCN-led innovation that automates end-to-end corporate user platforms, which has streamlined implementation of virtual cards into corporate workflows.

Other platform partners range from working capital providers to expense tools, meeting and events technology providers, and hotel booking platforms. "This has streamlined the implementation of virtual cards into corporate workflows," Mastercard said in a press release.

Consumer-like experiences

Corporate employees increasingly expect in their work lives the consumer-like payment experiences they are accustomed to when making payments in everyday life. But disparate and dispersed payment systems prevent corporate employees from receiving consumer-like payment experiences.

Mastercard is meeting this demand by simplifying the process and embedding VCN technology into the systems that corporates are using already.

Mastercard VCN technology can enable platform partners that have enrolled in a new program to accelerate the use of embedded consumer-like experiences in commercial payments. The benefits flow to banks, platform partners and mutual corporate end users.

• Banks will benefit from scalability and access to more embedded payments opportunities.
• Platform partners will benefit from the ability to offer embedded payments with reduced integration effort.
• Corporations will benefit from easier, consumer-like payment experiences with fewer clicks.

#h2Frictionless onboarding in $80 trillion market As commercial payments continue to evolve, Mastercard's new program will slash lengthy onboarding processes, unlocking efficiency for all VCN ecosystem participants and accelerating VCN usage in an $80 trillion serviceable market, the company noted.

With VCN technology, Mastercard added, corporate employees can seamlessly complete payments within the systems they use every day. For example, paying invoices or other expenses with VCNs can be simplified with the click of a button or processed automatically.

Mastercard affirmed it is simplifying onboarding so participating banks and platform partners no longer need direct relationships with one another.

This approach, the company added, removes barriers to integration and slashes the onboarding process by eliminating the need for formalities such as contracting, lengthy forms and technical vetting, which can take months or even years to complete. This substantially streamlined process accelerates adoption, empowering corporate end users to seamlessly use VCN technology on systems they use every day.

"The next wave of innovation in commercial payments is here," Mastercard proclaimed.

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