Mastercard has announced the expansion of its Accelerate fintech portfolio, adding new companies to its start-up engagement program Start Path and more technology partners to its Engage network, providing access to expert engineers and specialists that can help customers deploy new services quickly and efficiently. Through Accelerate, Mastercard helps emerging brands build and scale their businesses, supporting their programs today and providing the resources they will need in the years to come.
“For many years, Mastercard has been the partner of choice in LAC’s fintech space and our success with fintech partnerships is one of high collaboration and trust,” said Kiki del Valle, Senior Vice President, LAC Digital Partnerships. “As we continue to live through the dramatic shift toward digital payments, there’s never been a more exciting time to help emerging brands grow and scale their businesses –supporting their programs today and providing what we know they will need in the decades to come.”
The four LAC fintech partners joining the Start Path program are:
Aper – partners with financial institutions to develop their own e-commerce marketplaces, enabling them to enter a new market, cross-sell financial products and protect from fintech and technological disruptors.
Bit Capital – a blockchain-based open banking platform that enables customers to deliver their own digital financial products securely and quickly.
Finerio Connect – the first end-to-end open banking and personal finance management Application Programming Interface in Latin America that empowers fintechs and financial institutions to build customized and rapid solutions.
Juvo – analyzes mobile network data to build financial identities for the 68% of adults worldwide with no formal credit history. Juvo’s solution has enabled hundreds of millions of consumers throughout Latin America and Southeast Asia to build financial identities, enabling financial institutions to serve new segments.
Since 2014, Mastercard has invited more than 230 later-stage startups worldwide to participate in its six-month virtual program, providing technical guidance, operational support and commercial engagements within the Mastercard ecosystem.
Start Path evaluates more than 1,500 applications each year and selects approximately 40 startups that offer the most promising technologies and demonstrate a readiness to scale. Startups in this growing network have gone on to raise $2.7 billion in post-program capital and collaborate with Mastercard, major banks, merchants and other high-profile organizations.
Mastercard has also recently announced a collaboration with WiPay, a leading Caribbean fintech company to build on its plan to evolve and develop its presence as well as drive greater financial inclusion in the islands through payment and acceptance solutions.
As a part of the partnership, WiPay will leverage Mastercard’s Bank in the Box solution to empower SMEs through card acceptance. Bank in the Box is an end to end solution for SMEs that do not accept card payments and that are not financially included. They will also partner with a local financial institution that will issue a Mastercard prepaid card, to strengthen local digital ecosystems and facilitate seamless, fast, and transparent disbursements of funds for SMEs and citizens.
“We found in WiPay a knowledgeable partner to bring our vision to life and are excited to partner with them to bring these robust solutions to the market,” stated Marcelo Tangioni, Mastercard’s Caribbean Division President. “This important partnership builds on our commitment to lead the journey towards developing smarter islands and cashless societies to strengthen economies and increase financial inclusion throughout the region.”
The collaborative solutions will launch in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago initially, with roll-outs in Grenada, Guyana, Dominica, Barbados, St. Kitts, St Lucia, St. Vincent, and in the Bahamas, among others in the near future.
