Mastercard has welcomed a raft of new global partners to its innovative Mastercard Installments program and is expanding it further to support small businesses in the U.S. Illustrating the demand for powerful buy now, pay later (BNPL) experiences from familiar and trusted brands, several new partners are providing support for the program, including HSBC, J.P.Morgan and NatWest in the U.K.; Cross River Bank, Evolve Bank & Trust, Jifiti, Live Oak Bank, MOCA Financial and WebBank in the U.S.; and Saudi National Bank (SNB) in Saudi Arabia. The program taps the power and scale of the Mastercard network, which connects to more than 90 million merchants globally, to instantly support secure BNPL payments at checkout, both in-store and online.In addition to delivering more payment choice, Mastercard Installments is built on responsible lending practices and supports shoppers with an enhanced set of consumer protections, data transparency and insight-driven programs. Through technology, data and insights, and its consulting expertise, Mastercard is creating a more intelligent way to provide installment lending at scale.
“We believe no matter how you pay, a foundation of strong protections must be in place, Trust is the currency of innovation. Using a Responsible-by-Design approach ensures that we stay ahead of consumer, merchant and bank needs and expectations, continuously building confidence in the payments ecosystem by providing choice at scale.”
-Craig Vosburg, Chief Product Officer at Mastercard.
A Responsible, Intelligent Way to Offer Installment Lending
According to new global consumer research from Mastercard's World Payments Advisory™, nearly a quarter of respondents across 50+ markets have used a BNPL product in the past six months.[i] For BNPL users, “forgetting the payment was due” was the leading reason for missing an installment payment, while concerns about “hidden charges” were cited as a leading barrier to consumer adoption overall. Mastercard Installments addresses these concerns with a suite of unique, innovative services that increases transparency and helps protect consumers and businesses. These services include:
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Cutting-edge insights and analytics: Merchants and lenders are able to access a comprehensive set of data dashboards to better understand how their products are performing. Mastercard Test & Learn® technology can also pinpoint where to prioritize efforts and resources that enhance the user experience and drive successful loan repayment.
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Mitigating repayment risk with open banking and AI: In the U.S., using consumer-permissioned data and open banking technology, lenders can identify behavioral patterns to reduce the risk of failed payments while artificial intelligence can adjust models more quickly and accurately for success.
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Dedicated and embedded consumer protections: To participate in the Mastercard Installments program, lenders agree to follow applicable laws and network guidelines on responsible lending practices and data usage practices, among others. Consumers and U.S. small businesses enjoy the peace of mind that they get today from any other Mastercard product – including tokenization, dispute resolution, and zero fraud liability.
Empowering U.S. Small Businesses
Mastercard research shows that over 70% of small business owners who have used personal installments are likely to adopt business installments products if they become available.[ii] Meeting this demand in the U.S., Live Oak Bank, the nation’s leading small business lender, will support the program, with the goal to make Mastercard Installments available to its 7,000 small business customers.iii This builds on Mastercard’s ongoing commitment to Main Street America, delivering products and services that help improve operational efficiency, manage cash flow and maximize customer connections with financial tools.
About Mastercard (NYSE: MA)
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.