Mastercard and Paysend Launch Remittance Solution in Mexico

Mastercard and Paysend partnered to launch the Paysend Libre remittance solution in Mexico.

Paysend Libre uses a virtual Paysend Mastercard to provide a secure way to receive remittances, even if the recipient is underbanked or unbanked, the companies said in a Friday (Oct. 4) press release.

The solution is powered by Mastercard’s acceptance network and Paysend’s capabilities that enable digital remittance transfers between Latin America and the United States, according to the release.

“With a Mastercard virtual card, people will be able to instantly participate in the digital economy, quickly accessing the funds they need and make payments at more than the 100 million merchant locations worldwide that accept Mastercard,” Kiki Del Valle, division president of Mastercard North, said in the release.

With Paysend Libre, senders can initiate a transfer with the phone number of the recipient, according to the release.

The process then “generates a virtual Paysend Mastercard to act as a financial tool for recipients who lack a bank account or card,” allowing them to access the money and spend it in real time, the release said.

With its launch in Mexico, Paysend Libre is now available for senders in the U.S. to Mexico and Guatemala and for senders in the United Kingdom and European Economic Area (EEA) countries to selected locations, according to the Paysend website.

“Paysend and Mastercard are doing something never done before,” Jairo Riveros, group head of strategy and managing director of the Americas at Paysend, said in the release. “Through Paysend Libre, we are using remittances as a vector for widening financial inclusion, bringing more and more people into the financial ecosystem who were previously ignored by FinTechs and financial institutions.”

In an earlier expansion of their longstanding partnership, Mastercard and Paysend said in September 2023 that they were working together to enhance cross-border payments for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The partnership aimed to address the challenges faced by SMBs in sending and receiving money or paying vendors across the globe quickly and securely.

In November, Paysend raised $65 million in a funding round and announced a partnership with Spanish language media company TelevisaUnivision.