Mastercard is on the hunt for partners. The credit giant has just announced that they’re joining forces with Paysend to “redefine” cross-border payments Cross-Border Payments Cross-border payments refer to transactions involving individuals, companies, banks or settlement institutions operating in at least two different countries.The concept of cross-border payment is not new however, despite its rise in importance in the 21st century.New technology and the growth of blockchain has brought the term cross-border payment into our daily conversations.Cross-border payments are an essential term that refers to any transaction involving private individuals’ companies, bank Cross-border payments refer to transactions involving individuals, companies, banks or settlement institutions operating in at least two different countries.The concept of cross-border payment is not new however, despite its rise in importance in the 21st century.New technology and the growth of blockchain has brought the term cross-border payment into our daily conversations.Cross-border payments are an essential term that refers to any transaction involving private individuals’ companies, bank Read this Term. The move is designed to offer SMEs faster, more transparent transactions along with a simplified payment landscape.

The importance of SMEs

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 98% of European imports and exports. So, when SMEs say they need more efficient ways to send money abroad and pay vendors worldwide, it's time to listen.

The extended partnership between Mastercard and Paysend seeks to “revolutionize” cross-border payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term. The Open Payment Network, already in action, streamlines payment flows from start to finish, almost in real-time.

More partners?

Not content with saving the day for SMEs, Mastercard has also partnered with GEP, a procurement and supply chain AI-driven software provider, to embed its virtual card technology for improved B2B payments.

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.

This is all fantastic, when you factor in their getting into bed with Xbox, that’s three new partnerships for Mastercard in a matter of days.

A closed shop?

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.

Paysend and @Visa 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. 🚀💳

Click here: https://t.co/JW1PQiS7k7 pic.twitter.com/0HmgxHXmhC

— Paysend (@Paysend) September 14, 2023

It just goes to show that no matter how many partners you have, there's always someone else muscling in on the action. Even in an industry as large as global finance, it's hard to be monogamous.

But then again, the global credit any payment industry can often seem like something of a closed shop…