In a move evincing the resonances of the mobile payments boom, Mastercard is partnering with Wells Fargo Treasury Management to leverage its Mastercard Send payments platform.

The partnership, announced yesterday, will help increase the scope of Mastercard’s payments platform as it attempts—in conjunction with other major banks—to impinge on the market share of other mobile payments services, most of which began as third party applications. One of the many benefits of the partnership will be the digitization of transactions typically handled through cash or check.

“The platform helps drive the continued displacement of cash and check with digital payments providing speed, convenience, safety, and security to consumers and senders—peer-to-peer service providers, businesses, governments, nonprofits—alike, in both developed and developing markets,” said Matt Barr, senior vice president of digital payments and labs at Mastercard. “By partnering with Wells Fargo, we are able to speed payments for Wells Fargo Treasury Management and Wells Fargo Merchant Services customers.

“We believe this will help bring new value to these customers by rounding out the streamlined experience they are then able to provide their consumers providing immediacy to consumers when they need it most. Through Mastercard Send, Wells Fargo customers are able to help deliver funds their consumers need to the debit card that they already carry and are comfortable using, and which is widely accepted at the merchants they need to purchase goods or services from.”

Mastercard Send
For Wells Fargo, the benefits of the partnership are readily apparent. Insurance claims, rebates, e-marketplace payouts, shared economy payouts to sellers, social benefits, and tax refunds can now be sent in real time through the Mastercard Send platform, which will speed up access to funds by cutting out the wait period between transaction and fulfillment.

The partnership’s touted benefits to consumers that the two entities point to are a clearer understanding of the transactional process, a cleaner, integrated interface to work within, and greater ubiquity and security.

“In the U.S., disbursements and P2P payments make up $4 trillion per year; most of these payments are made via checks, ACH transfers, and cash,” Mr. Barr said. “Currently, the methods for these payments are slow, lack ubiquity, and create security concerns.

“Consumers want to be able to send and receive money using their connected devices regardless of where they bank, and disbursers are looking for cheaper and more efficient ways to send money to their consumers. In line with Mastercard’s vision to build ‘a world beyond cash,’ Mastercard Send aims to make payments easier, safer, and more efficient for all parties.”

Mobile payments
Mastercard has been investing heavily in its Masterpass technology, which integrates with established mobile pay platforms such as Android Pay and Samsung Pay (see story).

And it took two big steps forward when it comes to mobile integration thanks to a new chatbot system and a partnership that brings payments to wearable devices, signaling that the credit card company is committed to making multichannel retail more mobile (see story).

“We know mobile is key to the future of payments, and we expect features like Mastercard Send and Wells Fargo Wallet to offer unique experiences for our customers, while providing us with a richer understanding of the quickly evolving payments landscape so that we can be better informed to innovate for customer needs,” said Keith Theisen, executive vice president and head of product management for Wells Fargo’s Treasury Management Group.