Partners—particularly PayFacs, ISVs, and regional FIs—are embedding Mastercard acceptance, issuing, and value‑added services directly into SME workflows. By combining onboarding, payments acceptance, cards, and data-driven services into a single experience, partners help SMEs digitize faster, reduce operational complexity, and access tools that scale with their business. This shifts partners from payment providers to growth platforms for SMEs. These partners are also enabling small businesses with our Payment Gateway Services to help sellers set up their online store or app, plus accept payments online and in-person.

SMEs gain faster onboarding, simplified acceptance, quicker access to funds, and integrated financial tools such as cards, expense management, insights, and access to capital providers. Instead of juggling multiple providers, SMEs benefit from a unified, partner‑branded experience that saves time, lowers costs, and improves financial control. Small Businesses also benefit from a complete set of features to help them launch, manage and grow their business with ease and confidence, including storebuilder functionality, in-person, remote and online payment acceptance and reporting portals.  

• When acceptance and issuing are connected, SMEs can move seamlessly from getting paid to using funds. Acceptance enables faster settlement and payouts, while issued cards—virtual or physical—allows SMEs to immediately use incoming funds for expenses, suppliers, or growth investments. This reduces idle cash and working capital gaps.

• Faster payments enable quicker access to funds, while issuing solutions—such as virtual cards—enable SMEs to pay suppliers instantly while managing settlement timing. This combination smooths cash‑flow volatility, improves predictability, and reduces reliance on overdrafts or short‑term lending.

Connected experience brings acceptance, balances, cards, insights, and services into one portal. SMEs can accept payments in‑store, online, or in‑app; see funds settle; issue cards; manage spend controls; and access insights or capital—all without leaving their primary business platform. The experience is simple, modular, and designed around how SMEs operate day to day. 

Issuing extends SME capabilities beyond getting paid. Cards—debit, credit, prepaid, and virtual—enable controlled spending, easier expense management, safer B2B payments, and access to card‑linked benefits. Issuing also unlocks richer data, supporting better insights, lending decisions, and tailored offers as SMEs grow. 

By integrating issuing, money movement, and value‑added services, acquirers can evolve into full SME platforms. This includes cards, expense tools, data and insights, loyalty, and access to capital—delivered through a single integration.  

Additionally, acquirers can offer small businesses the tools to set up their online store plus payment acceptance across channels with our Small Business Gateway. 

PayFacs remove friction by handling onboarding, underwriting, and compliance, enabling SMEs to accept payments quickly without a traditional merchant account. Embedded within vertical platforms, PayFacs also act as the gateway to broader financial services—making payments, funding, and insights more accessible and relevant to SME needs.