If you need an indication that the global card networks are relying less and less on cards for future growth, this announcement posted in ThePaypers certainly cements that idea. Mastercard and their tech partner Form3 now offer services to provide connectivity to the Faster Payments network in the UK. This service is being offered to financial institutions as well as Payment Service Providers (PSPs).
I doubt that this will be offered in the U.S. as Mastercard would be stepping on too many partners’ toes including the large core processors and a growing number of fintechs. But expansion elsewhere around the globe seems probable.
Here’s the announcement:
Mastercard has partnered with Form3 to launch a real-time payments gateway service PayPort+, according to the official press release.
The solution which provides flexible access into the UK-based real-time payments infrastructure for Financial Institutions and Payment Service Providers. PayPort+, powered by Vocalink, a Mastercard company, and Form3, a technology partner, combines the benefits of cloud native technology with the high levels of security, availability, and operational services standards. Mastercard has selected Form3 as the technology partner for the implementation of its new PayPort+ platform.
PayPort was launched in 2016 to offer financial institutions, large and small, connectivity into the UK Faster Payments network. Through this next generation of PayPort+ these institutions will benefit from flexible connectivity options, including MQ, Restful APIs, and Microservices. PayPort+ is now live with two UK financial institutions, including Nationwide Building Society, processing real-time payments into the UK Faster Payment service.
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit and Alternative Products Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group