MasterCard Partners With Basware On Automated Supply Chain Finance

Basware and MasterCard have joined forces to introduce Basware Pay, and automated supply chain finance system. The new product connects buyer and supplier payments through the Basware Commerce Network and creates a network that only authorized and authenticated users can gain access to. Once approved by the buyer, the invoice becomes available for payment through a virtual MasterCard account number.  This assures the invoice information to and the payment are tied together in a secure, closed environment using MasterCard’s single-use Virtual Account Numbers (VANs) for protection.

“We have supplier meta data,” explained Esa Tihilä, chief executive officer of Basware, reports Forbes.“All the suppliers need to be approved by the buyer and then they are approved suppliers for that particular buyer. If you are not approved by Forbes, even if you do work for them but your name is not found on the  supplier list, the invoice will be blocked and sent back to you.

Basware Pay further  provides a platform that banks could use to get into the business of using approved invoices to pay suppliers and then later collect from buyers,  thus creating a financing element of the service.  Financing invoices could aid suppliers developing the cash flow that small companies need. Large comanies also benefit, with additional cash on hand to invest.

Hany Fam, President, MasterCard Enterprise Partnerships, said the opportunity is huge.

“This market is nascent and in size it is bigger than the entire consumer market. It is very under-penetrated electronically. While the consumer space is 85 percent non-electronic, this is north of 90 percent.”