Mastercard has enlisted Starling Bank as the settlement agent for the forthcoming debut of its P2P and B2C disbursement service Send in the UK.
Mastercard Send enables businesses and consumers to send and receive real-time payments to and from UK bank accounts. The launch in the UK comes three years after the service was first rolled out to US markets and follows Mastercard's purchase of Vocalink in 2017.
With payroll payments provider Income Group lined up as the first user of the service, Mastercard has selected Starling Bank to manage the funds that are to be disbursed before they are pushed to individual accounts via Faster Payments.
Julian Sawyer, chief operating officer of Starling Bank, says: “Starling Bank is a leading provider of real-time access to faster payments in the UK. This partnership will open up new commercial and business opportunities for Mastercard clients as it enables them to make and receive payments instantly.”
Mark Barnett, divisional president of Mastercard in the UK, says the arrival of Send will deliver on the promise of real-time payments for P2P and B2C payments.
“Mastercard Send will make payments much easier for users, and deliver better value to a diverse range of banks and businesses who regularly make disbursements," he says. "Existing direct-to-bank-account solutions - even those using Faster Payments - are often batch-based and hence less timely, giving businesses a real headache when it comes to disbursement of funds.”