Two acquisitions and several new products are supporting Mastercard’s ongoing innovation efforts. 

“All that we’re doing on strengthening our product solutions and our acquisitions … is going to be the way for us to win,” Chief Executive Michael Miebach said during Mastercard’s Q3 earnings call today. 

Mastercard has announced these recent deals: 

• On Oct. 1: An agreement was announced to acquire subscription management service Minna Technologies.  

• On Sept. 19: The $130 million deal to acquire payments company AtoB was closed, according to Crunchbase. 

• On Sept. 12: The $2.65 billion acquisition of cyberthreat intelligence company Recorded Future was announced. 

Alongside the expansion of its partnerships, Mastercard also discussed several new products during the earnings call: 

• Bill payments solution Bill Qkr; 

• A generative AI-driven virtual assistant built in collaboration with Databricks; and 

• Connect Plus, a tool that helps customers understand who is accessing their financial data. 

10 years of Start Path

Mastercard’s acquisition and innovation efforts are also reflected in its startup accelerator program Start Path, which celebrated its 10th anniversary during the third quarter.  

“Partnership has always been in our DNA,” Sabrina Tharani, senior vice president of fintech and venture partnerships at Mastercard, told Bank Automation News. Through Start Path, “we recognized an opportunity to now also collaborate with these emerging digital players — and harness the win-win that is startup and corporate partnerships.” 

Since Start Path launched at the end of 2013, the program has built a portfolio of over 400 companies in more than 50 countries with innovations in blockchain, open banking, small business, AI, loyalty, financial inclusion and more, she said. Through the program, companies gain access to product resources and teams, the ability to scale and in some cases, investment opportunities. 

Now, the program is seeing advances in AI, computational power and data technology specifically, she said. “It’s an interesting time to be part of this space — the world is experiencing an unprecedented, accelerated rate of change that will only continue to intensify.” 

The next Start Path class includes the following startups: 

• Carbon footprint reduction reward startup AWorld; 

• SaaS platform FootprintLab; 

• Consumer behavior monitor app Reewild; and 

• Climate tech software Vaayu.  

“Over the next six months, we’ll be working with these climate-tech startups intensively and collaboratively,” Tharani told BAN. She said interested parties should stay tuned for “additional programs focused on key growth areas for financial services launching in 2025.” 

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