In a new effort to streamline B2B payments in India, MasterCard has teamed up with small business lending platform Vayana Network and India-based Axis Bank to introduce new e-invoicing and payments solution “Invoice to Payment.”
The companies revealed Monday (March 9) that the new product will facilitate the process through which more than $95 billion in B2B payments are carried out every year in the nation. The new product will automate and digitize the entire B2B procurement process, the firms said, from invoicing to final payment.
With this partnership, Axis Bank reportedly becomes the first Indian bank to offer a multifaceted service to business that goes beyond credit access. “Axis Bank Commercial Card Products go beyond being a lending facility,” said the bank’s President of Retail Lending & Payments Jairam Sridharan. “’Invoice to Payment’ is a completely automated, digital payment solution for businesses. It offers digital invoicing, electronic workflow approval and instant payment processing.”
The service, he added, provides a crucial solution to businesses looking to manage their cash flow. Invoice to Payment offers increased security features, said reports, and provides faster payment for suppliers. The solution is also aligned with the federal Digital India mandate aimed at boosting digitization of procurement and payment reconciliation.
Earlier this year, MasterCard boosted its presence in the nation through a Memorandum of Understanding with the government to aid the adoption of electronic payments within businesses, governments and public works systems in the state of Gujarat. At the time, the company revealed plans to focus on the procurement process and introduce mobile solutions for payments systems in the region.
The credit card giant’s partnership with Axis Bank could signal new progress for mobile payments in the nation. Just last December, the Reserve Bank of India dealt a blow to mobile payment efforts after it banned mobile operators from using their existing networks to facilitate the technology.
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