Mastercard & Microsoft partner to connect and power digital economy

By Pavithra R

Mastercard has announced its partnership with Microsoft to shape the future of digital commerce, enable financial inclusion, and drive startup innovation.

Through the collaboration, the companies expect to accelerate Mastercard Labs’ cloud-native research and development activities, enabled by Azure and Artificial Intelligence to advance Mastercard Labs’ mission to de-risk and commercialize emerging technologies and platforms for digital commerce. The partnership will provide Mastercard’s partners, with access to technical expertise and cutting-edge technologies which will further empower them to build and securely scale new solutions.

“We are thrilled to deepen our longstanding relationship with Microsoft by advancing the research, development, and scaling of new technologies and business models. This strategic collaboration will strengthen and extend our cloud services and capabilities for clients and FinTech partners, sparking innovation, and creativity for the ecosystem. It will enable us to explore opportunities focused on new client segments, technologies, and trends as we continue to drive financial inclusion and build the future of commerce,” said Ken Moore, executive vice president and head of Mastercard Labs.

For empowering FinTech innovation, advancing digital commerce:

The companies are capitalizing on Mastercard’s global network and leveraging Azure’s global reach, enabling Mastercard’s ecosystem of partners to explore the use of emerging innovations and new commerce capabilities such as devices that facilitate digital payments in new ways. With access to Azure technologies, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and Internet of Things, FinTech partners will be empowered to create new user experiences to advance how businesses, consumers, and governments exchange value. Mastercard’s Start Path program has assisted with the development of over 230 global FinTech companies, democratizing access to financial services. The collaboration will expand support for the FinTech community by helping diversify and build new businesses,and by creating and scaling new cloud-first digital products and services.

For enabling financial inclusion:

Both Mastercard and Microsoft share a common mission of ensuring people in underserved communities have access to digital products and services to realise their full potential. The partnership is expected to advance Mastercard’s vision to improve the lives of people by building pathways to financial security and access to critical services. The Azure cloud environment will serve as the native infrastructure for Mastercard Labs’ inclusion efforts and support Mastercard Community Pass, a platform that pulls together complex ecosystems and provides underserved communities with access to essential services, such as education, basic healthcare, and agriculture marketplaces.

Also, read: 5 FinTech startups bolstering financial inclusion in Africa.

“Mastercard’s commitment to innovation and financial inclusion has accelerated digital commerce for individuals and businesses around the world. We look forward to building on our strong relationship and accelerating co-innovation to help connect and power a digital economy for everyone, everywhere,” said Judson Althoff, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Worldwide Commercial Business.

Established since 1966, Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. The firm is committed to building a more inclusive digital economy that works for everyone. Recently, Mastercard announced working with global industry players to develop a sustainable card program for all card issuers globally.