Mastercard Start Path program welcomes mx51 as first Australian fintech for 2020

Mastercard today announced Sydney-based fintech mx51 will be the first Australian partner to join its global Start Path program in 2020. The program will provide mx51 access to Mastercard’s global channel of issuers and market-leading digital resources as the start-up expands its unique portfolio in Australia and globally to deliver integrated payment solutions for merchants.

Merchant payments are shifting from traditional point of sale to a multi-channel approach, incorporating e-commerce, kiosks and mail or telephone orders. This creates complexity for retailers, often requiring them to enter relationships with multiple payment providers. mx51 has developed a bank-grade, cloud-based, multi-channel Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution and partners with banks to deliver a simpler and more streamlined payments solution for merchants.

In addition to providing real-time transaction reporting and value-added services, the mx51 platform removes the retailers’ need to deal with multiple payment providers for reporting, reconciliation and cashflow management, simplifying the way they do business and enabling them to thrive in an omni-channel environment of point of sale and e-commerce.

As businesses look for ways to offer a frictionless customer experience online and in stores, the mx51 platform acts as a critical building block in transactional banking, enabling banks to plug into payments infrastructure and helping them to compete against payment disruptors.

By joining Mastercard’s award-winning Start Path program, mx51 will gain access to a global channel of issuers and digital resources. A worldwide engagement program for the best and brightest later-stage start-ups, it evaluates over 1,500 applications per year and has provided 230 organisations with operational support and commercial engagements within the Mastercard ecosystem since 2014. Previous Australian Start Path participants include Airwallex, OpenSparkz and identitii.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Mastercard as well as fellow start-ups in the Start Path family,” said Victor Zheng, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, mx51. “For an Australian fintech looking to scale internationally, Start Path offers mx51 a huge opportunity to be part of the Mastercard network, enabling us to work with banks and acquirers globally.”

mx51 is already partnering with Westpac, one of Mastercard Australia’s banking partners, on the development of Presto Smart, the bank’s integrated payment solution. Presto Smart has been adopted by organisations and retailers including Carla Zampatti, Anna Thomas and The Salvation Army Australia’s retail arm, Salvo Stores.

“Presto Smart was chosen because of its innovative design removing the need for third-party products sitting between the EFTPOS machine and the Point of Sale (POS) unit,” said David Roberts, IT Manager at Salvos Stores. “Salvos Stores was in need of an integrated EFTPOS system that would operate seamlessly with our existing POS while giving us the power to manage our operating environment. The mx51 team worked closely with both Salvos Stores and our POS vendor to enable us to commence a nationwide rollout of the Presto Smart solution.”

“Mastercard is thrilled to welcome mx51 to its award-winning global fintech accelerator program,” said Kallan Hogan, Vice President, Fintech, Mastercard Australasia. “The platform uses leading-edge technology and a business model that is 100 percent focused on providing retailers with integrated tools to run and grow their businesses. Seeing a homegrown fintech representing Australia on the global stage is a great moment, not only for mx51 but also for the Australian fintech community.”

Mastercard is dedicated to the constant development of new and better ways to keep payments safe, creating a future where all digital transactions are trusted, secure and frictionless for merchants and cardholders. For more information on Start Path, visit the website.