Citi and Mastercard join forces to transform global cross-border payments

Citi is the first global bank to enable cross-border payments to Mastercard debit cards

Today, Citi (NYSE: C) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) announced a collaboration to offer cross-border payments to Mastercard debit cards in 14 receiving markets ^[1] worldwide, with plans for further expansion. Leveraging Citi’s WorldLink® Payment Services and Mastercard Move’s money transfer capabilities, Citi clients can make near-instant, full-value payments, with near 24/7 availability to consumers using their Mastercard debit card details. Citi is the first global bank to enable cross-border payments to Mastercard debit cards using Mastercard Move, tapping into the speed, security and transparency of the Mastercard network.

The integrated solution is available to Citi clients ^[2] across 65 origination countries in the corporate, financial institution, e-commerce and commercial sectors, and helps make cross-border payments simpler, faster, more efficient and more accessible. The solution supports an array of use cases, including insurance payouts, airline refunds and compensation payments, on-demand payments to freelance and gig-economy workers, e-commerce payments to merchants and refunds to customers.

This innovative solution deepens Citi’s collaboration with Mastercard by enabling enhanced money movement capabilities and access for Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) clients.

“As the global economy has become increasingly digital, our continued investment in the future of cross-border payments helps us drive innovation at scale for our clients. This collaboration builds on our longstanding relationship with Mastercard and leverages the strength of our global proprietary network combined with other leading digital wallet and card capabilities to enable our clients to make cross-border payments as though there are no borders, no currencies, no constraints.” – Debopama Sen, Head of Payments, Citi Services.

Mastercard is one of the largest payment networks, with over 3.4 billion debit, prepaid and credit cards issued globally as of Q2 2024. Mastercard's worldwide presence will help extend Citi's reach globally.

“Cross-border payments are a key area of growth for Mastercard, and we are constantly innovating to provide payment solutions that better cater to the needs of our global customers. By powering fast and secure cross-border transfers to Mastercard debit cards, our collaboration with Citi marks a significant milestone in bringing the ease and simplicity of domestic payments to the cross-border payment space.” – Alan Marquard, Head of Transfer Solutions at Mastercard.

This collaboration expands Citi’s payout offering, with payment destinations spanning across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America as well as U.S. domestic transfers. WorldLink Payments Services enable clients to make cross-border payments in over 135 currencies and in multiple payment methods, from traditional wires and ACH to cross-border instant payments, digital wallets, and now to Mastercard debit cards. 

Mastercard Move provides banks, non-bank financial institutions, direct disbursers and their customers with fast, secure money transfer solutions, domestically and internationally. Mastercard Move’s overall reach spans more than 180 countries and 150+ currencies, with access to more than 95% of the world’s banked population.

^[1]14 markets: Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA.

^[2]Clients must be based in Mastercard approved markets to use the solution.