Mastercard Debuts Accelerator For Middle-Market Companies

Mastercard has unveiled a tool to help financial providers service their middle-market customers.

The company’s Middle Market Accelerator, announced Tuesday (Feb. 18), combines Mastercard’s digital payments technology with services to provide transparency, automation and security, Mastercard said in a news release.

“There is an untapped opportunity to support the growth and digitization of middle-market companies, specifically the lower-middle market, which is broadly defined as companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $100 million, or with roughly 50-250 employees,” the release said.

Mastercard said the accelerator is being launched in the U.S. with plans for a wider global rollout. In the U.S., that means teaming with providers like Citizens to bring the card to their middle-market customers, and with FinTech providers offering tools for the segment’s most critical needs.

“As trusted advisers to our clients, we know firsthand that the middle market has a set of unique characteristics and pain points that require tailor-made solutions to fit their needs,” said Rodrigo Sanchez, head of commercial card solutions at Citizens. “This presents a major opportunity for collaboration to meet them where they are and help advance the growth of this important sector.”

Among the accelerator’s solutions are a new Mastercard business card designed for the middle market, a cash flow management offering through Trovata, an expense management service via Navan, and Mastercard security measures such as identity theft protection.

The launch comes as middle-market companies are placing more weight on tailored financial solutions, the release added, pointing to in-house research showing that 40% of these firms would switch providers if offered products with a better fit.

And as PYMNTS wrote last year, the financial world has only begun to recognize the opportunity middle-market companies offer.

“The large banks and the card networks, they are waking up to the fact that the middle market is a massive market — and one that’s not particularly well-served by the finance industry with real pain points to solve,” Paul Christensen, founder and chief executive of Previse, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.

Part of the problem is that middle-market businesses are often too large for small business solutions, yet too small for enterprise-level capabilities. Unfortunately, Christensen said, the conversation surrounding middle-market companies remains centered around buzzwords and high-level aspirations, and not concrete solutions.

“The conversations we’re seeing [around the middle market] are more a recognition of the opportunity, and it is a massive opportunity, but it will take time to translate that recognition into delivering services that meet their needs,” he said.