5 Startups to Join Mastercard’s Start Path Blockchain and Digital Assets Program

Mastercard's Start Path Blockchain and Digital Assets program is welcoming five startups to explore innovative blockchain and digital asset solutions. This initiative aims to drive user experiences and expand use cases that demonstrate the power of blockchain technology.

The program focuses on how different currency formats, from regulated money to bank deposits, stablecoins, and CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), can serve specific purposes. Mastercard is leveraging its experience in payment innovations to bridge these ecosystems with startups, powering new solutions, and creating efficiencies in digital commerce experiences.

The startups joining this program will have the opportunity for collaboration, bespoke training, and access to Mastercard’s customers and channels through a virtual four-month program. Since its inception in 2014, the Start Path program has supported over 400 startups from 54 countries.

The startups participating in the current cohort are:

1. Kulipa (France): Focused on enabling next-generation crypto payment card issuing for digital wallets.
2. Parfin (U.K.): Developing enterprise-grade software products to help financial institutions adopt blockchain rails.
3. peaq (Singapore): Providing digital infrastructure for real-world applications using decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN).
4. Triangle (USA): Prioritizes sustainability through a data platform that triangulates climate data with finance.
5. Venly (Belgium): Makes blockchain integration straightforward for developers and businesses to support industry growth and digital transformation

This is a significant step towards integrating blockchain technology into mainstream financial services, enhancing commerce with trust and transparency. It's exciting to see how these startups will contribute to the evolving landscape of digital transactions and asset management.

Mastercard's Start Path is an award-winning startup engagement program that provides global support for startups, particularly in the fintech sector. The program helps these startups access strategic partnerships, co- innovation opportunities, and engagement with Mastercard's extensive global network.

The program is designed to help startups scale up and reach a global customer base by offering tailored expertise and the opportunity to co-create and innovate with Mastercard. Since its launch in 2014, Start Path has supported a diverse range of fintechs from around the world, helping them to grow and succeed.

For startups looking to join the program, Mastercard seeks companies that are aiming for global scale, accelerated expansion, and those that could benefit from a partnership with a trusted and established industry leader like Mastercard.

Mastercard Picks BharatPe for its Start Path Program

Mastercard has selected BharatPe for its Start Path program. Part of the Mastercard Accelerate global initiative, Start Path has a portfolio of 220 startups since its founding in 2014 and hand-picks approximately 40 startups from a pool of 1,500 applicants annually. BharatPe, along with six other tech startups, will get an opportunity to learn from and integrate with Mastercard’s network of experts, customers and partners.

BharatPe was Co-founded by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani in 2018. By making payments, lending, deposits and other financial services omnipresent at the grassroot level, BharatPe endeavours to make financial inclusion a reality for the 20 million+ small merchants in India.



Earlier this year, the Govt. of India (MeiTY) also awarded BharatPe for Innovation in Digital Payments. Processing over 12 lakh transactions daily, BharatPe is allowing its 25 lakh+ merchant base to accept transactions for free on UPI. Bharat Peprocesses transaction value of more than Rs. 15,000 crores annually and has grown 20x in 2019.

Ashneer Grover, CEO and Co-founder of BharatPe, said, “We're excited to partner with Mastercard through their Start Path Programme. We look forward to collaborating with Mastercard and its global partners to deliver transformative solutions for our merchants in India.”

“Innovation is at the heart of Mastercard’s 50-year history, and the cutting-edge technology being pioneered by BharatPe aligns to the innovative, value-driven approach we take to our solutions and services,” said Amy Neale, Vice President and Global Lead for Mastercard Start Path. “The newest Start Path companies will be connected to our global ecosystem and together we’ll partner to deliver transformative solutions.”

Start Path invites later-stage startups to participate in a six-month virtual program, providing opportunities to scale and secure strategic investment. In addition to support from Mastercard, the startups also gain knowledge from the company’s global network of experts, customers and partners. The Start Path program helps emerging tech startups formulate the next generation of business solutions.

Bharat Pe is the only company from India selected by Mastercard as part of the latest cohort. The six other start-ups picked are from US, Indonesia, Israel and Kenya and are functioning in categories like e-commerce, cybersecurity, digital payment solutions, and artificial intelligence.

Zeta Is The Only Indian startup Selected In Mastercard Global Incubator

As part of its commitment to building the future of commerce, Mastercard recently announced the group of companies selected to matriculate into the Mastercard Start Path Global 2017 wave. Out of the 11 startups selected, Zeta - the fintech startup to revolutionise employee tax benefits in India is the only entrant from the Asia Pacific region.

Co-founded by Bhavin Turakhia (CEO) and Ramki Gaddipati (CTO), Zeta has revolutionised the space of employee claims and reimbursements by launching an innovative cloud-based enterprise solution suite called Zeta OptimaTM. The product offering includes employee benefits such as reimbursements for medical, fuel, LTA, mobile, books and several other such company benefits - all accessible digitally for both corporations and employees. Zeta Optima™ is used by 1.5 million users across 12,000+ organizations in India. Zeta is a single platform which manages multiple benefits and the solution is compliant and customisable at the same time, making it a first-of-its-kind offering in the employee benefits space in India.

Start Path Global will provide Zeta and its fellow matriculants with operational support, commercial access and strategic investment. Launched in 2014, the program has seen much success around the world. The program has mentored approximately 1,600 startups per year and engages with more than 150 of them around the globe.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Porush Singh, Country Corporate Officer, India & Division President, South Asia, Mastercard said, “Over the past few years, India has witnessed a tremendous growth in its start-up ecosystem. To continue driving momentum, providing the right mentorship and operational support to these upcoming companies is mission critical. Start Path is one such initiative by Mastercard that exposes young professionals to international markets and provides an enriching global experience. I congratulate Zeta on being chosen for the Global Start Path Program.”

Commenting on their selection, Mr Ramki Gaddipati, CTO and Co-founder, Zeta said, “We are proud to be shortlisted for the Mastercard Start Path program. As pioneers in digital employee benefits, we are handling complex payment scenarios and bridging transaction data with enterprise policies and systems. Mastercard will be a great partner helping us participate in the global digital payment ecosystem. Start Path specifically gives us an opportunity to take our solutions to a range of Mastercard partners across the world.”

The other Start Path companies selected this year are:

• AID:Tech delivers digital entitlements transparently through blockchain technology and digital identity.


• b.well makes managing healthcare and insurance simple by unlocking insights on patients.


• Flutterwave is fostering digital payment acceptance and infrastructure for banks and businesses across Africa.


• Goodworld powers the world’s only technology for frictionless hashtag payments on social media.


• HYPR reduces the risk of data breaches by eliminating the need for a centralized credential store.


• Mobeewave enables smartphones to accept contactless payments without external hardware.


• Railsbank gives companies access to a global banking network through simple APIs.


• Sensibill’s platform turns everyday purchase receipts into a core part of the digital banking experience.


• ShieldPay‘s instant digital escrow facility enables everyone, everywhere to transact with each other in total confidence.


• Trunomi unlocks the power of customer data using data rights management.

These companies will work with Start Path against a tailored plan to help them scale. Applications for the six-month virtual program are accepted on a rolling basis. The program is open to startups who are rethinking banking, payments and commerce and have raised a significant seed or Series A round of investment. Interested startups can visit https://www.startpath.com/ for additional information and to submit an application.

About Mastercard Start Path

Mastercard Start Path is a global effort to support innovative startups developing the next generation of commerce solutions today. Start Path was launched in 2014 with an objective to help startups to grow their businesses faster than they could by themselves. Startups that join the program can benefit from the knowledge of a global network of Mastercard experts, access to Mastercard customers and partners, and the ability to innovate on top of Mastercard solutions. Mastercard customers that join the program as partners get connected to the best and brightest startups and gain access to innovations from across the globe.

Mastercard Sets Up Its First Innovation Lab In India; To Work Alongside Local Fintech Industry

American multinational financial services corporation Mastercard unveiled its first innovation lab in Pune, India this week. Mastercard Labs, Pune, is the ninth such lab established by the company globally, and the second one in Asia Pacific after Singapore.

By opening a lab in the country, the leader in global payments is hoping to forge relationships in the country’s local fintech industry on future technology breakthroughs in digital payments, data manipulation, financial inclusion and fraud prevention.

“Learning, innovation, and collaboration cannot exist in isolation. The launch of the first Mastercard Labs in India is evidence of our commitment to designing solutions that drive commerce and create more inclusive societies around the world,” said Ken Moore, EVP, Mastercard Labs.

According to Microsoft, the plan for the new Pune lab is to ensure that it not only acts as an incubation hub for experimenting with new payment related technologies but also double up as a support base for startup partnerships through the card scheme’s Start Path programme. The lab will exclusively work on collaborating and co-creating with India-based fintech experts, technologists, developers and academia.

Commenting on why Microsoft chose India as a location for its ninth lab, Tobias Puehse, Vice President, Innovation Management, Digital Payments and Labs, Asia Pacific, Mastercard said, “The Mastercard Labs in India provides a significant opportunity to highlight the country’s standing as a world-class innovation hub, renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit and growing pool of science, technology, engineering and mathematics talent. By establishing the new lab in Pune, we are looking to deepen our active collaborations with governments, issuers and businesses in India and revolutionise the market’s digital payments ecosystem to drive greater acceptance and adoption of electronic payments, not just in India but around the world.”

India's and Fintech's relationship might have started a little late, but it is surely blooming faster than any other economy. According to a report released by CapGemini SE, a French multinational information technology consulting corporation, earlier this year in June, India has occupied the number two position in the list evaluating the strength of fintech movement all around the world. The list has been topped by US, and is followed by UAE at third, China at fourth, and Netherlands at fifth, after India at second.

The year 2015 was a formative year for the Indian fintech sector, which saw the emergence of numerous fintech start-ups, incubators and investments from public and private investors. Within just two years, the country has come to realise that a right mix of technical skills, capital investments, government policies, regulatory framework and entrepreneurial and innovative mind-set could be the driving force to establish fintech as a key enabler for financial services in India. And Indians seems to be adapting to it pretty well. About 53 per cent of Indians have acknowledged that they have had a positive customer experience with fintech. This percentage is only lower than US, where people have had 53.3 per cent satisfaction.

Mastercard Labs, Pune is one of the several broad-based collaborations the global payment giant has launched in the Indian subcontinent and the wider Asia Pacific region.

In addition to the lab, the year also saw Mastercard collaborating with the National Payments Corporation of India and other payments brands to develop Bharat QR, the world’s first interoperable Quick Response (QR) code acceptance solution.

This development was first reported in CIOL.

[Image: Henry J Lyons Architects]

Mastercard Sets Up Its First Innovation Lab In India; To Work Alongside Local Fintech Industry

American multinational financial services corporation Mastercard unveiled its first innovation lab in Pune, India this week. Mastercard Labs, Pune, is the ninth such lab established by the company globally, and the second one in Asia Pacific after Singapore.

By opening a lab in the country, the leader in global payments is hoping to forge relationships in the country’s local fintech industry on future technology breakthroughs in digital payments, data manipulation, financial inclusion and fraud prevention.

“Learning, innovation, and collaboration cannot exist in isolation. The launch of the first Mastercard Labs in India is evidence of our commitment to designing solutions that drive commerce and create more inclusive societies around the world,” said Ken Moore, EVP, Mastercard Labs.

According to Microsoft, the plan for the new Pune lab is to ensure that it not only acts as an incubation hub for experimenting with new payment related technologies but also double up as a support base for startup partnerships through the card scheme’s Start Path programme. The lab will exclusively work on collaborating and co-creating with India-based fintech experts, technologists, developers and academia.

Commenting on why Microsoft chose India as a location for its ninth lab, Tobias Puehse, Vice President, Innovation Management, Digital Payments and Labs, Asia Pacific, Mastercard said, “The Mastercard Labs in India provides a significant opportunity to highlight the country’s standing as a world-class innovation hub, renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit and growing pool of science, technology, engineering and mathematics talent. By establishing the new lab in Pune, we are looking to deepen our active collaborations with governments, issuers and businesses in India and revolutionise the market’s digital payments ecosystem to drive greater acceptance and adoption of electronic payments, not just in India but around the world.”

India's and Fintech's relationship might have started a little late, but it is surely blooming faster than any other economy. According to a report released by CapGemini SE, a French multinational information technology consulting corporation, earlier this year in June, India has occupied the number two position in the list evaluating the strength of fintech movement all around the world. The list has been topped by US, and is followed by UAE at third, China at fourth, and Netherlands at fifth, after India at second.

The year 2015 was a formative year for the Indian fintech sector, which saw the emergence of numerous fintech start-ups, incubators and investments from public and private investors. Within just two years, the country has come to realise that a right mix of technical skills, capital investments, government policies, regulatory framework and entrepreneurial and innovative mind-set could be the driving force to establish fintech as a key enabler for financial services in India. And Indians seems to be adapting to it pretty well. About 53 per cent of Indians have acknowledged that they have had a positive customer experience with fintech. This percentage is only lower than US, where people have had 53.3 per cent satisfaction.

Mastercard Labs, Pune is one of the several broad-based collaborations the global payment giant has launched in the Indian subcontinent and the wider Asia Pacific region.

In addition to the lab, the year also saw Mastercard collaborating with the National Payments Corporation of India and other payments brands to develop Bharat QR, the world’s first interoperable Quick Response (QR) code acceptance solution.

This development was first reported in CIOL.

[Image: Henry J Lyons Architects]

ftcash Gets Selected by Mastercard Start Path Program to Participate in Its Six-Month Virtual Mentorship Program

Further accentuating its position as one of India’s fastest growing financial technology start-ups, ftcash has been selected by Mastercard Start Path to participate in its annual six-month virtual mentorship program. A global effort to support later-stage fintech and tech start-ups who are shaping the future of commerce, Mastercard Start Path has played a pivotal role in shaping the successes of fintech organizations all over the world. ftcash is one of six start-ups from around the world who were selected to participate in the program’s latest wave.

Start Path was launched in early 2014 to provide operational support, commercial access, and strategic investment for start-ups across the globe building innovative solutions in financial services and commerce. The Start Path team works with start-ups using a tailored plan to deliver tangible value and help participating companies grow their businesses. The program enables startups to tap into to its global ecosystem of experts and help expand into new markets through relationships with Mastercard and its customers. Start-ups that are qualified for the program are rethinking banking, payments and commerce and have raised a significant seed or Series A round of investment. Since its launch, the team has engaged more than 130 start-ups from all over the world.

Speaking on the announcement, Sanjeev Chandak- co-founder and CEO, ftcash, said, “ftcash was established with the singular aim of facilitating swift and seamless financial transactions for Indian merchants over a digital medium, and to allow them convenient access to other financial products such as loans. Participating in the Mastercard Start Path program is a huge win for us. We look forward to receiving the knowledge and operational tools we need to further achieve our organizational goals, bolster our global client networks through the program and contribute considerably towards building a less-cash, digital-first India.”

“ftcash is transforming the way merchants and entrepreneurs can take out loans and get paid for their goods and services,” said Amy Neale, vice president, Mastercard Start Path. “By participating in Mastercard Start Path, ftcash will receive a unique mix of benefits designed to help it scale at an accelerated pace.”

Through its open architecture-based platform, ftcash aggregates all payment methods, including credit/debit cards, net banking, and mobile wallets, UPI, and PayPal for merchants to initiate digital payments in less than five minutes. Users do not need to own a smartphone or download any apps and can conveniently receive payments through a basic feature phone, which can then be transferred directly to their bank account. The company primarily serves micro-merchants, MSMEs, home-based entrepreneurs, mom-and-pop stores, and large corporate businesses with a merchant base. ftcash facilitates both payments and loans for merchants and allows them to repay loans directly through the platform. It also creates unique and proprietary transactional data, which can further be leveraged to provide institutional finance to these merchants.