Mastercard Adds Solutions for Embedded Finance and Virtual Card Controls

Mastercard has expanded its solutions in B2B payments by adding tools that provide simple connections and smarter controls.

These solutions are designed to make B2B payments as simple as those in the consumer space, the company said in a Wednesday (Oct. 15) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

Mastercard’s new Commercial Connect API will facilitate embedded finance for B2B payments by providing one, scalable connection through which B2B platforms can access Mastercard’s issuer ecosystem and commercial payment capabilities, according to the release.

This will start with Mastercard’s virtual card platform this year and will expand to include additional B2B payment capabilities in 2026, per the release.

Mastercard’s other new solution is a clearing controls capability that lets issuers enforce controls on virtual card transactions through clearing, building on the existing controls that are available at authorization, according to the release.

By enabling issues to block noncompliant transactions before settlement, clearing controls reduce chargebacks, improve reconciliation and bring additional trust to virtual card payments, per the release.

Mastercard plans to make clearing controls globally available for issuers and their corporate customers in 2026, according to the release.

“We are committed to empowering enterprise growth around the world through smarter, digital-first solutions,” Marc Pettican , global head of corporate solutions at Mastercard, said in the release. “By enhancing access to our commercial payments technology and unlocking more sophisticated virtual card controls, our goal is for payments to be so seamless and secure they fade into the background — freeing organizations to focus on what truly matters: growth, innovation and people.”

Mastercard reported in July that a majority of B2B suppliers find that digitizing payment processes is a key priority for their business, though two-thirds admitted they routinely fall short of buyer payment expectations.

Mastercard also said in its Wednesday press release that it is expanding on its embedded virtual card number program by adding integrations across enterprise resource planning, procurement and expense management platforms.

When announcing this program in March, Mastercard said it enables platforms to offer embedded payments with reduced integration effort and provides corporate users with a chance to provide “an easier, consumer-like payment experience with fewer clicks.”