Eko-Pay digital payment solution integrates with Mastercard platform

Mastercard has partnered Eko-Pay, a company with proprietary solutions for financial and non-financial transactions, to introduce Eko-B2B, a digital payment solution for businesses in Asia Pacific.

According to a study* by global consulting firm McKinsey on commercial payment growth in Asia Pacific, 90% of B2B payments in the region are still conducted in cash, representing a significant opportunity to digitise the payment system. Expansion of customer and supplier networks across markets, growth of cross-border transactions and a large informal economy of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are key reasons cited for the growth of B2B payments in the region.

Eko-B2B streamlines workflows and improves productivity for B2B payment transactions. Powered by Eko-Pay, Eko-B2B seamlessly integrates with the Mastercard inControl platform to facilitate business payments, reducing inefficiencies and improving transparency.  Vendor and supplier web portals enable round-the-clock access to current and historical payment details and dashboards that track key business performance statistics, eliminating the need for manual payment systems and their associated complications and inefficiencies.

Multiple payment systems, non-electronic payment methods and supplier resistance are just some of the common pain points for businesses as they attempt to digitise their payment system across their supplier network. With the Eko-B2B solution, Eko-Pay offers the option to manage this onboarding process for the business, allowing them to experience the full benefits of a digital B2B payment solution with minimal time invested.

“Eko-Pay is very pleased to partner with Mastercard on this solution that bridges a critical gap in the B2B payment environment,” said Jean-Pierre Gagnon, CEO, Eko-Pay. “The entire platform was designed with simplicity in mind to allow for rapid adoption through local and international business networks and provide a long tail acceptance enablement solution.”

Nagesh Devata, Senior VP, Acceptance and Merchant Development, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, said, “Many businesses today, regardless of size, engage with a network of suppliers and across multiple markets as they look to not just survive but thrive in a global marketplace. Yet many businesses still rely heavily on traditional, non-digital forms of payments to process business transactions, resulting in (unnecessarily) wasted time and resources... businesses that have adopted digital payment solutions (often) face resistance and challenges from their supplier network and vendors in implementing these new processes. By partnering with Eko-Pay to launch a fully automated solution that allows them to experience the enhanced efficiencies and real-time cost savings of using digital payment solutions, we are looking to solve for some of these key pain points.”