Mastercard has joined the Marco Polo Network to provide more businesses with access to trade and working capital finance solutions.
The Marco Polo Network is a joint project with technology firm TradeIX, working with enterprise software firm R3. It has over 25 members who hope to unlock a potential $1.5trn opportunity in global trade finance.
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Through this, businesses should benefit from better visibility into trading relationships and easier access to financing options. This will go beyond point to point relationships, to a global network of trading partners.
Claire Thompson, EVP Enterprise Partnerships at Mastercard, said: “When there is trust, there will be trade. “By connecting our Mastercard Track platform with a leading group such as Marco Polo we’re further lowering the barriers to access trade finance for business of all sizes globally. We’re excited about scaling a connected digital trade ecosystem together.”
The new partnership is part of Mastercard Track, which launched in 2018 to unify access to business identity information. According to Mastercard, it reduces the time it takes for businesses to identify, vet and onboard new trading partners.
Daniel Cotti, Managing Director, Center of Excellence, Banking & Trade at TradeIX, said: “Adding Mastercard as our latest member is an important step for realizing our vision towards a more agile global trade environment.”
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By GlobalDataIn addition, Cotti said Mastercard’s scale and reach would complement financial service providers who helped form the network.
The other members
Members of the Marco Polo Network include BNP Paribas, NatWest, Standard Charted and Microsoft.
Jacques Levet, Transaction Banking Head EMEA, BNP Paribas, said: “With Mastercard and Marco Polo joining forces, we can even better address some of the most pressing challenges that are holding back businesses wanting to trade globally.
“Better flow of information across the whole value chain has the potential to drive significant benefits for all network members.”
Mastercard’s new membership comes after it recently joined the Financial Data Exchange in August along with Visa.
David E. Rutter, CEO of R3, said: “The future of enterprise technology is in integrated systems which break down siloes and enable seamless interaction between services.
“Through this collaboration between the Marco Polo Network and Mastercard, I’m excited to see the opportunities to connect together and create more joined up, efficient and effective trade finance processes for both institutions and enterprises.”
