Mastercard Launches API Platform For Merchants, Issuers

Mastercard announced Tuesday (May 14)  the launch of the Mastercard Innovation Engine, an API-based digital platform that enables issuers and merchants to provide digital capabilities to customers.

In a press release, the payments company said the plug-and-play platform brings together Mastercard assets and FinTech services to provide enhanced customer experiences. Mastercard said the first service using the Mastercard Innovation Engine is focused on enhancing the experience consumers have with their card benefits and rewards. Created with Flybits and Kasisto, dubbed the Mastercard Contextual Engagement Solution, it provides U.S. issuers and merchants with a digital channel so consumers can better interact and maximize their card benefits and rewards. The company said the data contextualization capabilities of Flybits and the conversational capabilities of Kasisto enable issuers and merchants to create personalized experiences for customers at the correct time.

“Consumer expectations are changing rapidly and as a result, we must keep pace. Given where Mastercard sits at the epicenter of payments, we recognize that we can serve as a hub for scaled innovation delivered through our issuing partners. By enabling our customers a means to significantly faster speed to market, together, we can drive the digital transformation of the consumer experience,” Mastercard Executive Vice President, Core Products Amnah Ajmal said in the press release.

During the course of the next few months, Mastercard said it will roll out additional solutions via the Mastercard Innovation Engine. Those will focus on further enabling bank and merchant partners to provide enhanced digital experiences to consumers. The single connection to the Innovation Engine provides issuers with continous access to easily tap new capabilities and solutions that come to the platform.

The Mastercard Innovation Engine and Contextual Engagement Solution are available now to issuer and merchant clients in the United States. The platform will be rolled out in other markets across the globe beginning later this year, Mastercard said in the press release.