Mastercard to buy subscription management startup Minna Technologies

MasterCard said on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Minna Technologies, a software firm that facilitates the management of consumer subscriptions.

The move comes as Mastercard and its main rival in the payments network, Visa, are rapidly trying to expand beyond their core credit and debit card businesses into technology services such as cybersecurity, fraud prevention and bank payments.

Mastercard declined to disclose financial details of the deal, which is currently under regulatory review.

The payments giant said the deal, along with other initiatives it has undertaken around subscriptions, will allow it to offer consumers a way to access all their subscriptions in one view – either in your banking app or a central “hub”.

Minna Technologies, which is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, develops technology that helps consumers manage subscriptions in their banking apps and websites, regardless of the payment method they used for subscriptions.

The company said it works with some of the world’s largest financial institutions today. It already considers Mastercard as a key partner as well as its rival Visa.

“These teams and technologies will add to the broader set of tools that help manage the merchant-consumer relationship and minimize any disruption to their experience,” Mastercard said in a blog post on Tuesday.

Today’s consumers often have tons of subscriptions to manage across multiple services like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney Plus. Having multiple subscriptions can make canceling them difficult, as consumers can end up losing track of which subscriptions they’re paying for and when.

Mastercard noted that this can have a negative impact on merchants, as consumers who cannot easily cancel their subscriptions end up asking their banks to block payments.

According to Juniper Research data, there are 6.8 billion subscriptions globally, a number expected to grow to 9.3 billion by 2028.

Financial services operators such as Mastercard have rapidly grown their product suite to stay competitive with emerging fintech players that offer more convenient, digitally native ways to handle consumers’ money management needs.

In 2020, Mastercard acquired Finicity, a US fintech firm that allows third parties, such as fintechs or other banks, to gain access to consumers’ banking information and make payments on their behalf.

Earlier this year, the company announced that by 2030 it will tokenize all cards issued on its network in Europe – in other words, as a consumer, you will no longer need to manually enter your card details and will just have to use fingerprint to authenticate your identity when paying.

Visa, meanwhile, is also trying to stay competitive with fintech competitors. Last month, the company launched a new service called Visa A2A, which makes it easier for consumers to create and manage direct debits – payments that are made directly from your bank account rather than via card.