Mastercard and EnKash partner to expand commercial card usage in India

By Edil Corneille

Global payments technology company Mastercard and Mumbai-based EnKash entered in an alliance today to expand the usage and acceptance of commercial cards in India. Mastercard’s alliance with EnKash, a digital platform and payment solution provider, is to provide a B2B digital payment automation platform. The platform is embedded with supplier enablement services designed to help businesses pay using the Mastercard payment network and to accept card payments, especially for small & medium enterprises.

Commercial cards are said to have seen an increased adoption across Indian businesses, large and small, as an effective payment option to protect and digitize supplier payments, drive savings with longer time to pay, enhance controls and simplify reconciliation. Using the EnKash digital platform and Mastercard payment network, corporates can leverage their unutilized credit lines to pay multiple types of core & non-core financial transactions including utility, rental, GST, fuel and many other B2B suppliers. The supply side businesses benefit from timely payments of invoices which would significantly help to improve their cash-flows and to get access to features, including a dashboard for analytical reporting, which help in seamless payment reconciliation.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Mastercard in our journey to connect large to mid to small businesses on a common digital payment network. In short, EnKash serves as a catalyst for businesses to facilitate payments to its suppliers and/or do business transactions using their commercial cards. Such benefits help drive business operational efficiencies. We ensure that the card usage is optimized to create a win-win situation for financial institutions, businesses and their suppliers at large,” said Hemant Vishnoi, Co-founder, EnKash.

“Access to funds is the lifeblood of every business and is fundamental for growth, which is more so for MSMEs,” said Vikas Varma, Chief Operating Officer, South Asia, Mastercard. “Mastercard solutions coupled with payment network allow businesses to better manage their working capital needs and improve efficiencies through automation and enhanced reconciliation. This alliance brings more options in how businesses pay and get paid, while maintaining exacting standards of security. By ensuring faster payment to suppliers, the bulk of whom are MSMEs, the company would also be supporting a crucial segment of the Indian business eco-system.”

The Mastercard and EnKash alliance is expected to enable banks to generate greater spends on the cards (issued by such banks) and offer better profits and service to their customers. Corporates will have improved control, compliance and security to enhance efficiencies in strategic purchases and larger payments. Suppliers will have reduced Day Sales Outstanding and improved cash-flows.