If You're a PSP and You're not with Mastercard, Something's Wrong

<p>Mastercard is on the hunt for partners. The credit giant has just
announced that they’re joining forces with Paysend to “redefine” <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/c/cross-border-payments/">cross-border payments</a>.
The move is designed to offer SMEs faster, more transparent transactions along
with a simplified payment landscape. </p><p>The importance of SMEs</p><p>As we are repeatedly told, SMEs are often the lifeblood of local and
national economies. Begs the question as to why they’re often on the receiving
end of all sorts of government initiatives. According to Eurostat, they make up
over <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=International_trade_in_goods_by_enterprise_size&amp;oldid=505731">98%
of European imports and exports</a>. So, when SMEs say they need more efficient
ways to send money abroad and pay vendors worldwide, it's time to listen.</p><p>The extended partnership between <a href="https://www.mastercard.com/">Mastercard</a>
and <a href="https://paysend.com/">Paysend</a> seeks to “revolutionize”
cross-border <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/p/payments/">payments</a>. The Open Payment Network, already in action, streamlines
payment flows from start to finish, almost in real-time.</p><p>More partners?</p><p>Not content with saving the day for SMEs, Mastercard has also partnered
with <a href="https://www.gep.com/">GEP</a>, a procurement and supply chain
AI-driven software provider, to embed its virtual card technology for improved
B2B payments. </p><p>The solution will work for both SMEs and larger firms and help them to
manage their tech platforms and to overcome the headache of managing thousands
of payments. All this should end up
helping businesses with cash flow, increasing their working capital, aiding in
compliance and improving visibility.</p><p>This is all fantastic, when you factor in their getting into bed with <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/trending/xbox-and-mastercard-level-up-with-the-xbox-credit-card/">Xbox</a>,
that’s three new partnerships for Mastercard in a matter of days.</p><p>A closed shop?</p><p>However, Mastercard better keep its partners happy, as Visa
is also partnering with Paysend to do much the same. Nothing’s new,
everything’s a re-hash of something else and in this game, everybody knows
everyone.</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Paysend and <a href="https://twitter.com/Visa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Visa</a> have joined forces in a 5-year partnership to accelerate simple money transfer across the globe, with the common goal of growing card-to-card transfers to over 170 countries worldwide.