In the age of instant everything, the demand for faster, more secure payment solutions has never been higher. But it’s about more than just speed: speed equals security. Like with cash, you know that once the funds have exchanged hands, they won’t be held up elsewhere in transit.
Whether you’re issuing insurance payouts, paying gig workers, refunding customers, or settling with vendors, time is money – and delays in payments can result in lost business, reputational damage, or increased churn.
That’s why Mastercard Send, a real-time push payment platform, is becoming a cornerstone of modern enterprise payment strategy. It presents an opportunity to overhaul legacy systems, improve operational efficiency, and deliver a world-class payment experience at scale.
What is Mastercard Send?
Mastercard Send enables near real-time payment transfers to and from billions of Mastercard cards globally. Money is available to recipients in as little as seconds (but up to 30 minutes). A big win compared to more traditional methods that can take up to 48 hours.
It’s the quick, secure, and scalable way to pay and get paid.
Ideal for use cases like peer-to-peer and account-to-account transfers, gig economy payouts, insurance claims, and refunds, Mastercard Send helps businesses enhance customer experience, reduce reliance on checks and ACH, and streamline money movement.
Key capabilities include:
- Near real-time payment delivery to billions of endpoints globally
- 24/7/365 availability, not limited by banking hours
- Global reach in 100+ countries
- Robust security, risk monitoring, and fraud prevention tools
- API-based integration for scalability and speed
How does Mastercard Send work?
Mastercard Send transactions can work in two ways:
- Funding transaction: Money is pulled from a Mastercard card account to be transferred to a recipient
- Payment transaction: Money is pushed to a Mastercard card account from an originating institution to a recipient
In both cases, the money will reach the recipient’s account within 30 minutes of authorization.*
Financial institutions that integrate with Mastercard Send, like Checkout.com, become what’s known as the Originating Institutions. They act for the sender (business or individual), while recipient accounts are held with Receiving Institutions.
Here’s how a regular Mastercard Send payment transaction works:
Benefits of Mastercard Send
Mastercard Send is a speedy way to pay and get paid domestically and internationally, making it easy to send and receive money with Mastercard’s industry-leading security.
It’s fast
Customer expectations have changed. Speed is no longer a differentiator – it’s an expectation. Whether you're dealing with end consumers, gig workers, merchants, or suppliers, they increasingly expect instant access to their funds.
With Mastercard Send, funds can be delivered anytime in up to 30 minutes, although they typically arrive within seconds. This enhances the user journey and reinforces trust.
For example, imagine an insurance claimant receiving reimbursement instantly after claim approval – not in 3-5 business days. That’s a brand differentiator.
It’s secure
With Mastercard Send, you’re operating with one of the most secure global payment ecosystems – Mastercard’s network, ensuring transactions are safe.
- Encryption protects personal and financial data
- Mastercard’s proprietary fraud detection tools identify and prevent fraud
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra security layer
- Built-in KYC and AML checks reduce money laundering and legal headaches, and ensure you meet regulatory requirements
It has a wide reach
Through one single API gateway, you can send money to billions of cards globally.
Powered by Mastercard’s global infrastructure and partnerships with banks, fintechs, and wallet providers, Mastercard Send even delivers coverage in hard-to-reach geographies.
For enterprises with multinational footprints, this provides one consistent platform to manage global disbursements with transparency and speed.
It offers greater financial control and operational efficiency
The idea of faster funds settlement is crucial for businesses, helping with cash flow. Managing your finances is much easier when you don’t have a constant flux of money stuck in processing.
Mastercard Send reduces reliance on batch file uploads, checks, or legacy ACH rails. Its near real-time, API-driven infrastructure simplifies workflows, reduces reconciliation burdens, and lowers operational costs.
For enterprise finance and operations teams, this means:
- Less manual intervention
- Improved STP (straight-through processing) rates
- Enhanced treasury visibility and liquidity planning
How businesses can use Mastercard Send
Businesses can use Mastercard Send for both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) payments. This can range from supplier payments to paying gig economy workers to disbursing customers. Globally, B2B payments make up over 85% of payments in terms of value.
Gig economy payouts
Gig economy payouts are estimated to reach almost $1 trillion by 2028, making it a high-value market.
Ride-share drivers, food delivery couriers, and freelance marketplace sellers – all part of the gig economy – expect daily or even hourly payouts. Their next paycheck isn’t always guaranteed, so quick access to earnings after job completion can be life-changing. No more waiting days or weeks for a direct deposit, Mastercard Send keeps them satisfied with quick payouts.
In short, faster payouts equal happier workers which equals stronger platform growth – turning payout speed into a competitive advantage.
Customer refunds
Mastercard Send can be used to push funds directly to customer cards after processing their returns, streamlining the process. Instead of the traditional 3 to 5 business days, refunds can be processed in minutes, improving customer satisfaction and trust. This goes a long way in reducing complaints and helping convert unhappy returners into repeat customers.
And another win for your business? Cut down on refund-related support calls.
This is currently in beta at Checkout.com.
Insurance payouts
Payouts from claims are traditionally slow and complicated, but insurance companies can use Mastercard Send to payout to claimants quicker. Helping them show up for policyholders in critical moments like after accidents, health emergencies, or natural disasters. Offering speed in moments of urgency or stress can be an insurer’s key differentiator and path to success.
What’s more, faster payouts can lower operational costs by reducing reliance on mail and call centers.
Health insurance providers can speed up how they reimburse policyholders for out-of-pocket expenses, while travel insurance providers can do the same for delays, cancellations, or lost baggage compensation.
Cross-border remittances
Mastercard Send is particularly useful for remittance platforms covering funding and payments across different markets and currencies. Interestingly, the global remittances market is projected to grow by 5.8% from 2023 to 2029. Its projected value in 2029 is $1,031 billion.
Enable customers to safely and securely send money to family and friends abroad by transferring funds directly to their Mastercard card.
Mastercard and Checkout.com partner to enable instant wallet top-ups for Careem
Careem Pay is the financial technology arm of the Middle East ‘Everything App’, Careem. It brings together the everyday services people rely on – transport, deliveries, and money transfers – in one app. Careem has been delivering secure payments for over a decade, with more than 50 million registered users.
In partnership with Mastercard and Checkout.com, Careem Pay has integrated Mastercard Send for account funding transactions (AFTs), offering customers in the UAE near real-time payments directly into their Careem Pay wallets. It’s now faster and more convenient to use the Careem app for money transfers, remittances, and daily services.
Careem is paving the way for better payments in the Middle East as one of the region’s early adopters.
“As one of the first Mastercard Send partners in the UAE, we will be able to offer advanced payment services to our customers and provide a seamless user experience during wallet top-ups. We are dedicated to collaborating with Mastercard to explore new use cases and raise awareness about the many benefits of Mastercard Send among merchants for both funding and disbursements,” shares Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA, Checkout.com.
“The Mastercard Send solution will help Careem Pay fulfill part of our purpose and promise to customers to simplify their payment experiences and access to fintech products. Careem Pay, the digital wallet and fintech arm of Careem, enables customers to top up their wallet, transfer and receive money at the click of a button and pay for products and services both on and beyond the Careem’s Everything App. Mastercard Send now gives our customers in the UAE access to near real-time payments with convenience and security to support financial inclusion of Careem’s digital wallet growth in the market," says Ahmed Salahy, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Careem Pay.
Launching Wise’s global ‘Pay to Card’ feature
Wise partnered with Checkout.com to launch its global Pay to Card feature, which allows the sender to transfer money instantly to a recipient’s payment card nearly anywhere in the world.
“Our business demands that money reaches the recipient as quickly as possible,” explained Aleksandr Povarov, Product Manager at Wise. “For that, a global Pay to Card solution is unbeatable. We know that cards are the preferred way for many of our customers to receive transfers, and enabling instant payouts to cards makes it so much faster and more convenient.”
“Checkout.com’s global footprint and transparent data were crucial for us,” said Povarov. “Sending money abroad is a high-volume, low-margin business. The more providers and custom connections you need to connect to local networks, the less clarity you have over data, fees, and interchange costs.”
Checkout.com integrates with Wise’s existing customer experience and unlocks transfers to billions of cards worldwide through a single API.
Discover more about Wise and Checkout.com’s partnership.
*The issuer bank needs to be fast-funds enabled.
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