Mastercard, Jeeves to Offer Local Cards to Mexican Businesses

Mastercard will be working with Jeeves, a business banking company that has worked with numerous Mexican businesses, to help alleviate credit access problems in Mexico, according to a press release Monday (Nov. 29).

The two companies will work together to create a physical card that lets companies pay in any local currency from anywhere Mastercard operates.

Pablo Cuarón, director of new payments flows at Mastercard México, said that the partnership would help to deal with the burgeoning FinTech ecosystem.

“Through these collaborations, we can contribute to a fast digital transformation that provides startups with the products that directly align with their needs and facilitate access to financial services,” Cuarón said.

Jeeves purports to offer quick credit card approvals with no personal guarantees, and has previously worked with over 700 Mexican businesses, including Runa, Moons, Bitso, Kavak and Jüsto, among many others.

“The startup ecosystem in Mexico and all of Latin America is thriving,” Dileep Thazhmon, CEO and founder of Jeeves, said in the release. “As founders ourselves, we understand their needs, which is why it is important that we offer this card to them now. In addition to no fees and up to 4% cashback, our cards provide the flexibility and security LATAM startups are hungry for.”

Mastercard has also recently acquired the acquisition of Arcus FI, a graduate of the Start Path program, which will help deliver bill pay solutions and real-time payment applications across Latin America.

Arcus provides services like bill pay and cash-in, cash out, and is connected with numerous big billers, retailers and FinTechs in Mexico. The platform now can enable payment processing, settlement and reconciliation with Mexico’s Interbank Electronic Payment System.

See also: Mastercard Acquires LATAM Real-Time Payments Platform

Arcus co-founder Iñigo Rumayor said the company was originally founded nearly a decade ago to help immigrants get a real way to track finances and send money home. Becoming part of Mastercard, he said, will let the company expand its reach and deliver more for customers.