Mastercard today announced it has completed its acquisition of Aiia, a leading European open banking technology provider that offers single and secure API access to banks and fintech companies, and enables users to easily perform account-to-account payments. Aiia further advances Mastercard’s existing distribution channels, technology, data practices and global multi-rail and open banking strategy.

“As the shift to a digital economy continues to accelerate globally, Mastercard’s commitment to leading innovation in financial services remains strong,” commented Craig Vosburg, Chief Product Officer, Mastercard. “Open banking empowers consumers and small businesses to use their financial data to expand access to financial services, such as demonstrating their financial wellness to increase access to credit, aggregating financial data to improve personal financial management, and to more seamlessly set up and manage payments. Together, we’ll continue to build upon our API connectivity and our multi-rail strategy to enable greater consumer access, control and choice around the world.”

Open banking broadens access to financial services by putting users at the center of where and how their data is used to provide the services they want and need. Mastercard was an early advocate of open banking and continues to demonstrate its commitment to providing consumers choice, delivering programs at scale with localized customer service, and innovating with relentless focus on safety and security.

With the addition of Aiia, Mastercard further expands its existing open banking technology and proven data practices and reinforces the company’s progress in building a stronger global open data network. Aiia’s open banking platforms and infrastructure – including its strong API connectivity to over 2,700 banks across Europe – enables Mastercard to continue to build applications through a developer-first approach for a variety of financial institutions, merchants, peer-to-peer networks and fintechs globally.

At scale, Mastercard’s suite of end-to-end open banking capabilities will continue to enable multi-rail payment flows, enhanced consumer authentication and fraud management, and delivery of analytics and consulting services. The deal continues to enhance our position in offering seamless choice and activation across multiple payment types, including cards, account-to-account, push payments and blockchain, enabled in many cases through the power of open banking connectivity.