Mastercard has introduced new tools to make commercial payments easier. They are also meant to give businesses better visibility over B2B transactions.
The company’s latest development, the Commercial Connect API and clearing controls, help financial institutions and digital platforms handle payments more efficiently and with more transparency.
The company says most chief financial officers plan to increase technology spending in 2025 as they look for better ways to manage cash flow and reduce fraud. Mastercard is also expanding its virtual card platform, working to make payments fit naturally into the systems companies already use.
The company’s embedded virtual card number (VCN) programme, initially launched in early 2025, is now being broadened through partnerships with enterprise resource planning and expense management providers, including SAP Concur, SAP Taulia, Pay4You, and Grasp Technologies. These integrations aim to deliver richer transaction data, tighter authorisation controls, and real-time payment notifications within corporate workflows.
“We are committed to empowering enterprise growth around the world through smarter, digital-first solutions,” said Marc Pettican, global head of Corporate Solutions, Mastercard. “By enhancing access to our commercial payments technology and unlocking more sophisticated virtual card controls, our goal is for payments to be so seamless and secure they fade into the background — freeing organisations to focus on what truly matters: growth, innovation, and people.”
The Commercial Connect API is intended to simplify the connection between B2B platforms and Mastercard’s payment ecosystem. By combining multiple interfaces into a single scalable connection, the API is expected to shorten integration times and broaden access to commercial card programmes. Pay4You is set to be among the first adopters, with further capabilities scheduled for release in 2026.
Alongside this, Mastercard unveiled clearing controls, a feature enabling issuers to set transaction limits and merchant restrictions at the clearing stage rather than solely during authorisation. The feature is meant to help improve compliance and cut down on chargebacks. It will be especially useful in the travel sector, where payment disputes happen most often. Mastercard plans to make clearing controls available worldwide in 2026.
