Mastercard joins FinTech Australia as an ecosystem partner

Mastercard, a global pioneer in payments innovation and technology, has joined FinTech Australia as an ecosystem partner and as an event partner for the 2021 Finnie Awards.In partnering with FinTech Australia, Mastercard aims to become a leading source for advice, support and guidance to fintechs in the global payments sector. In addition, FinTech Australia and Mastercard will also run a joint fintech pitch event later this year.“Collaborations between fintechs and large financial services are key to growing our fintech sector. We’re thrilled to see Mastercard take this step in partnering with FinTech Australia to better collaborate with the local industry,” Rebecca Schot-Guppy, CEO of FinTech Australia said.“We’re particularly excited to have Mastercard as an event sponsor for this year’s Finnies event. With their support, we are well placed to hold our best event to date for the ecosystem.”“Our ecosystem partnership program has more than doubled in size over the past 12 months, indicating strong demand for partnerships and collaboration with the industry,” she added.In Europe and North America, Mastercard is already the partner of choice for 97% of the top Fintech brands. The Mastercard Accelerate partnership program takes a relationship-led approach to helping fintechs build and scale their operations, supported by four dedicated programs:

• Mastercard Fintech Express – Provides fintechs with accelerated speed-to-market at every stage of their growth journey, by providing product differentiation, financial flexibility and global licensing support through dedicated in-market teams.
• Mastercard Engage – Identifies qualified technology partners and fintechs, connecting them to thousands of Mastercard partners and customers to help scale their businesses efficiently.
• Mastercard StartPath – Invites later-stage startups to participate in a 6-month program, providing opportunities to scale and secure strategic investments. More than 200 companies have participated in StartPath since its founding in 2014, including local success stories Airwallex and Identitii.
• Mastercard Developers – Provides APIs for everything, empowering engineers with the ability to access Mastercard payment, security and analytics services via simple, user-friendly documentation, SDKs and sample code for the top programming languages

“Mastercard has long recognised the high levels of innovation and entrepreneurial talent here in Australia. The organisation is excited to partner with FinTech Australia and its members to further accelerate the incredible growth we’ve seen from the ecosystem in recent years,” said Kallan Hogan, Vice President, Fintech Account Management, Australasia, Mastercard. “As a global technology company, Mastercard’s ambition is to enable fintechs to scale both at home and abroad. This partnership aims to connect local players in the space to Mastercard’s industry experience, technology and connections, alongside the resources available at its Global Tech Hub in Sydney, helping these organisations rise to the next level, quickly.”FinTech Australia’s current corporate partners include: IDEMIA, Google, eftpos, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Bank of Queensland, NAB, EY and BDO.The FinTech Australia partnership program helps embed these companies within the fintech ecosystem and networks them with its key players. Media contactHarrison Polites (FinTech Australia)harrison@themediaaccelerator.com.au0409 623 618Luke McClelland (Mastercard)luke.mcclelland@mastercard.com0417 761 139 About FinTech AustraliaFinTech Australia is a national association for the Australian FinTech Startup community. Our vision is to make Australia the leading market for FinTech Innovation and Investment by working with both sides of Government, Industry and the Australian FinTech community to create a supportive environment and partner ecosystem in Australia and abroad.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.