Mastercard And Partners Form Supply Chain Digitization Alliance

To digitize supply chains for merchants and wholesalers, Mastercard, along with Finastra, SGeBIZ and N-Frnds, has created an alliance with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), according to a Tuesday (Sept. 8) announcement.

“Innovative partnerships like this one can support the agility and resilience of supply chains, accelerating access to finance and improving efficiency,” Michael Froman, vice chairman and president of strategic growth for Mastercard, said in the announcement.

The alliance will reportedly result in a digital technology that offers wholesaler access to credit and completely digitized marketing campaigns.

Mastercard will harness supply chain information from N-Frnds, the virtual procure-to-pay platform of SGeBIZ, and other sources to team with Finastra and the firm’s Trade Bank clients with the goal of automating working capital finance access. The group will also harness the mobile technology of N-Frnds to more effectively communicate future promotional efforts involving wholesalers and suppliers.

The economic effects of COVID-19 have acutely impacted supply chains and trade networks, especially for SMBs. The pandemic has also decreased control over cash flow and access to credit for these businesses.

The ADB approximated a $1.5 trillion funding gap in 2018, long before to the pandemic. If demand returns in the worldwide economy, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) forecasts a possible $2 trillion to $5 trillion shortfall in trade financing up to 2021.

In separate news, the ICC has unveiled the “operational launch” of the ICC Digital Standards Initiative, which seeks to create a digitized and coordinated trade climate, according to a Tuesday (Sept. 8) announcement.

And separately, Mastercard and Pollinate have agreed to a strategic partnership to provide the latest insights and infrastructure to FIs serving small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Pollinate’s solution functions as a cloud-based information and digital experience layer that can exist on top of a bank’s existing infrastructure.