Mastercard has rolled out Open Finance Business Solutions, providing Australian SMEs with a suite of tools that support their expansion through secure real-time data sharing.
Launching Open Finance Business Solutions follows recent data that showcases an increased focus on productivity and optimal data sharing across the region, with the Productivity Commission indicating that a mature data-sharing regime could lead to up to USD 10 billion in annual gains.
Additionally, Mastercard’s move falls in line with the Government’s reset of the Consumer Data Right framework, which now places small business use cases first in accounting, lending, and payments to support inclusion and efficiency across Australia.
Facilitating growth for Australian small businesses
Considering that a large percentage of SMEs encounter cashflow pressures, limited access to credit, and issues when it comes to onboarding and compliance processes, Mastercard’s newly launched solution focuses on mitigating such complexities by making customer onboarding more efficient, driving smarter payments, delivering automated insights, and offering fairer lending opportunities.
Mastercard’s offering
By positioning itself as an Accredited Data Recipient at the unrestricted level, Mastercard utilises the Business Consumer Disclosure Consent (BCDC) and end-to-end consent platform to allow businesses across Australia to access Open Banking. With the BCDC access model, the company mitigates barriers to business participation in the CDR and speeds up the onboarding process.
Using this service together with Mastercard’s global network to connect partners with banks across the region, the company’s Open Finance Business Solutions is set to provide significant benefits to SMEs. This will be achieved through an expanding ecosystem of collaborators, delivering advanced solutions based on local business demands.
Australian small businesses will receive expanded access to funding, as the platform enables lenders to assess business financial health leveraging real-time, consented banking data. Additionally, Mastercard’s platform optimises the management of business finances by offering secure, real-time access to bank transaction data. Businesses can then integrate this information directly into their accounting platforms.
Furthermore, Mastercard’s Open Finance Business Solutions supports more efficient business payments and loyalty programmes through real-time bank account verification and transaction aggregation. At the same time, the platform simplifies merchant onboarding while also integrating with compliance players. This allows businesses to scale onboarding efficacy and meet AML and KYB requirements.
