Mastercard Launches Payments Tool For Canadian Businesses

Mastercard has formed a partnership with the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and the credit and debit card processing service Moneris Solutions, both of which have joined the Mastercard Track Business Payment Service.

The tool, set to become available to business customers in Canada early this year, is “designed to help buyer and supplier partners tackle the systemic challenges of business-to-business (B2B) payments — one of the first open-loop commercial solutions to do so globally and a first of its kind in Canada,” Mastercard said in a news release Thursday (Jan. 13).

The company says Mastercard Track automates and enhances B2B payment execution and management, as well as the exchange of payments data between buyers and suppliers. It also offers solutions for supply chain finance and gives businesses greater control over payments.

Mastercard points to its research into small businesses that found 40% of Canadian businesses dealing with cash flow issues stemming from late payments and slow processing times to cash and checks. This is something that’s always been an issue, but one that’s been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Current business payment processes often require manual reconciliation work that can be very labor intensive,” said Sasha Krstic, president, Mastercard in Canada. “The availability of Mastercard Track through our new partnerships with BMO and Moneris will help Canadian businesses gain freedom from an inefficient process by simplifying and automating the exchange of payments to make B2B payments work harder, faster and smarter.”

The company said Mastercard Track will let BMO and Moneris help their customers reduce risk, cut costs and automate their processes. Buyers get the chance to improve working capital and use resources more efficiently, while suppliers gain more control over payments and optimize their cash flow management.

Read more: Moneris Collaborates With BMO For B2B Payments In Canada

Last year, BMO and Moneris, which bills itself as Canada’s largest FinTech, collaborated to offer business customers Moneris B2B Pay, an automated payment processing tool.

The tool lets purchasers and vendors transact through virtual business cards such as BMO’s Approve2Pay. Purchasers can make payments digitally through a virtual card, while vendors can have funds accepted without intervention and have the money added to their accounts.