Mastercard’s Fintech Express Aims To Fuel European Startups

Mastercard’s Fintech Express Fuels EU Startups

Mastercard has added a program designed to assist FinTech startups in Europe with quickly launching and expanding, the company announced on Tuesday (June 2).

Mastercard said the program, dubbed “Fintech Express,” will leverage the power of partnerships and the payment giant’s expertise, technology and global network to allow startups to focus on innovation to drive the digital economy.

The initiative promises to help emerging companies quickly launch or expand by obtaining a Mastercard license and accessing the payment company’s network; becoming an Express Partner by building tech alliances; and connecting with other Express Partners to get Mastercard up and running in a matter of days, per the announcement. 

The program supports digital payment innovators by making it easy to collaborate with Mastercard and its partners to debut new FinTech products. Becoming an Express Partner helps brands simplify the launch of payment solutions, shortening the process from a few months to a matter of days, the company said.

Mark Barnett, president of Mastercard Europe, said that European startups have been driving the global transition toward more digital-focused economies. “Be it mobile payments, access to financing or eCommerce, FinTechs have become the building blocks of our modern-day payment infrastructure,” he said in a statement.

Fintech Express is part of Mastercard Accelerate, the company’s FinTech platform that provides startups and emerging brands with support and assistance as they grow and transform from market entry to global expansion. 

“Open banking provides an opportunity for traditional financial players to collaborate with FinTechs to bring innovative products to people safely and simply,” Barnett said.  

Railsbank, the London-based open banking and compliance platform, is one of the early players to collaborate under the new Express Partner program. “Our successful collaboration with Railsbank has further powered the digital economy by allowing FinTechs to launch new technologies rapidly and easily,” Barnett added.

In April, Railsbank signed a five-year partnership with Visa to deliver Banking as a Service in Southeast Asia, and recently became a Visa “principal issuing” member, TechCrunch reported.

In a recent interview with PYMTS, Nigel Verdon, Railsbank’s CEO, said the changing landscape of financial services has focused on the flexibility and speed companies need to develop new products and services and get them to market quickly to meet customer demands.