BARCELONA, SPAIN – MARCH 01: A display of the MasterCard company logo on their booth during the Mobile World Congress on March 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Joan Cros Garcia/Corbis via Getty Images)
Joan Cros Garcia-Corbis | Corbis news | Getty Images
MasterCard said Tuesday that an agreement has been reached to acquire Minna Technologies, a software company that makes it easier for consumers to manage their subscriptions.
The move comes as Mastercard and its main payment network rival Visa look to rapidly expand beyond their core credit and debit card businesses into technology services such as cybersecurity, fraud prevention and pay-by-bank.
Mastercard declined to release financial details of the transaction, which is currently subject to a regulatory review.
The payments giant said the deal, along with other initiatives it has committed to around subscriptions, will enable it to offer consumers a way to access all their subscriptions in one view – whether this is within your banking app or in a central 'hub'.
Minna Technologies, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, develops technology that allows consumers to manage subscriptions within their banking apps and websites, regardless of which payment method they used for their subscriptions.
The company said it works with some of the world's largest global financial institutions. It already views Mastercard as an important partner and as its rival Visa.
“These teams and technologies will add to the broader suite of tools that help manage the relationship between merchant and consumer and minimize any disruption to their experience,” Mastercard said in a blog post on Tuesday.
Consumers today often have to manage numerous subscriptions for multiple services such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney Plus. If you have multiple subscriptions, it can be difficult to cancel them because consumers ultimately lose track of which subscriptions they are paying for and when.
Mastercard noted that this could have a negative impact on merchants, as consumers who cannot easily cancel their subscriptions end up calling their banks to request a hold on payments received.
According to data from Juniper Research, there are 6.8 billion subscriptions worldwide, a number expected to rise to 9.3 billion by 2028.
Established financial services providers such as Mastercard have rapidly expanded their product offerings to stay competitive with emerging fintech players that offer more convenient, digitally native ways to manage consumers' money management needs.
In 2020, Mastercard acquired Finicity, a US fintech company that enables third parties – such as fintechs or other banks – to access consumers' banking information and make payments on their behalf.
Earlier this year, the company announced that it would tokenize all cards issued on its network in Europe by 2030. In other words: as a consumer you no longer have to enter your card details manually and only have to use your card details. fingerprint to verify your identity when you pay.
Visa, meanwhile, is also trying to stay competitive with fintech challengers. Last month, the company launched a new service called Visa A2A, making it easier for consumers to set up and manage direct debits; payments taken directly from your bank account instead of by card.