Mastercard Introduces White-Label Subscription Management Solution for Financial Institutions

Mastercard is piloting a subscription management solution that financial institutions can add to their consumer banking offerings.

The new Smart Subscriptions solution enables consumers to cancel, pause and resume their subscriptions, the company said in a Tuesday (March 12) press release.

It also helps consumers analyze and categorize their spending, see upcoming bills and receive personalized offers from merchants, according to the release.

“No matter how many services you pay for, managing those recurring subscriptions should be simple and seamless,” Raj Seshadri, president of data and services at Mastercard, said in the release. “Smart Subscriptions acts on that insight, meeting the standards for effortless engagement that both banks and consumers demand.”

Smart Subscriptions uses open banking technology provided by Mastercard’s U.S. open banking arm, Finicity, to connect multiple accounts into a central hub, according to the release.

The new solution can be implemented by any bank with a single application programming interface (API), the release said. It is white labeled and can be used with any payment and network option.

Smart Subscriptions is being piloted in the United States and is expected to be launched in other markets later this year, per the release.

“Smart Subscriptions merges the needs for convenience and control, providing unique value to both financial institutions and consumers,” the press release said. “Financial institutions can drive loyalty, increase engagement and reduce chargebacks, while consumers benefit from a simple interface that unlocks greater visibility into their financial wellness and access to personalized insights and offers.”

This new offering leverages Mastercard’s Subscription Control solution that was introduced in 2023, according to the release.

Mastercard said in June 2023 that it teamed up with subscription management service Subaio to help people get a better handle on their subscriptions.

The solution enabled by this partnership lets consumers see their subscriptions and recurring payments and unsubscribe from them — all within their digital banking app.

PYMNTS Intelligence has found that enabling consumers to pause and resume service as they please may be key to gaining and maintaining customers in the retail subscriptions space.

All the highest-performing subscription companies present consumers with the ability to pause service, while only 23% of bottom performers do the same, according to “Decision Guide: How Retail Subscription Merchants Can Win and Retain High LTV Customers,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and sticky.io collaboration.