What Mastercard Move is
Mastercard Move is Mastercard's portfolio of money movement services. Banks, non-bank financial institutions, businesses, digital players and governments use it to send funds at home and across borders, to cards, bank accounts, wallets and cash pickup locations.
It brings together Mastercard Send, for transfers to and from cards, and Cross-Border Services, for payments to accounts, wallets, cards and cash pickup. Mastercard does not transmit the funds itself; licensed financial institutions do, so access comes through a participant registered for it, such as an acquirer, a bank or a processor. Its reach for payouts, from marketplaces and gig work to insurance claims, is why it is one of the networks our payouts module connects to.
What it does in your platform
Payouts
Pays out to Mastercard cards, and in some regions to other debit cards, through Mastercard Send, and to bank accounts and wallets abroad through Cross-Border Services. Each card payout gets a clear approved or declined answer.
How the connection works
Mastercard Move is reached through a participant registered for it, such as your acquirer, bank or processor. The module sends each payout to that partner, which calls Mastercard Send and reports the result.
A payout is requested
A seller asks to be paid to their Mastercard debit card. The module screens the payout and holds the amount in the ledger.
A disbursement is sent
The partner sends a disbursement request to Mastercard Send with a unique reference for this payout.
Mastercard checks and routes
Mastercard Send validates the request against its controls and limits, then sends a payment transaction to the bank that issued the card.
An answer comes back
The card's issuer approves or declines it, and the answer comes back, in most cases within seconds.
The ledger closes it
An approval books the payout; a decline releases the held amount, with the network's reason in the backoffice. A rare unknown status is read again from Mastercard Send.
Next to other networks
Mastercard Move and Visa Direct sit side by side in the payouts module, next to on-chain transfers for crypto payouts, and each card payout goes to the network that reaches it.
Bank rails and payout networks cover recipients who would rather give account details. The screens, statuses and ledger stay the same whichever carries a payout, and changing the partner behind Mastercard Move changes a connector, not your app.
When Mastercard Move fits best
A strong fit when
- You pay sellers, drivers or gig workers who want their money on their card.
- You pay out across borders to accounts, wallets or cash pickup as well as cards.
- Your acquirer, bank or processor already takes part in Mastercard Send.
Also worth a look
- Visa Direct for recipients with Visa cards, where your partner offers it.
- An instant bank rail, such as SEPA Instant or Faster Payments, where recipients share account details.
How we get you live
The partner
We help you get access to Mastercard Move through a registered participant, such as your acquirer, bank or processor.
The programme
We set up the payout use cases, limits and approvals with you, within your programme's rules.
The keys
Credentials for the partner go into your platform's secrets and nowhere else.
A full test run
Payouts and declines are tested on Mastercard's sandbox test cards through your partner, before your first real payout.
