Mastercard has enhanced its virtual card platform with new security controls, embedded payment capabilities and simplified integration tools designed to help enterprises, banks and procurement teams manage commercial payments more securely and efficiently.
The latest updates to the Mastercard In Control virtual card platform introduce stronger controls across the payment lifecycle while providing a single API connection to Mastercard’s expanding embedded payments network. The enhancements are intended to support organisations looking to scale virtual card programmes, improve spend visibility and reduce operational complexity.
As virtual cards become more widely used across procurement, accounts payable and corporate payments, Mastercard has introduced new capabilities to improve governance and reduce fraud.
The new Issuer Enforced Controls allow financial institutions to apply spending limits, transaction caps and card validity periods when virtual cards are created. Meanwhile, enhanced Clearing Controls extend validation beyond payment authorisation into the settlement stage, allowing businesses to block invalid transactions, enforce payment policies and improve reconciliation.
According to Mastercard, fraud rates on virtual cards are already significantly lower than traditional payment cards, with additional reductions achieved through the In Control platform.
Marc Pettican, Global Head of Corporate Solutions at Mastercard, said: “As payments become more digitized and embedded into business workflows, expectations for performance, security and control are higher than ever. We’re expanding our virtual card capabilities to deliver more unified and scalable experiences — helping partners simplify how they implement and scale virtual card programs with greater security, control and consistency.”
Mastercard has also expanded its Commercial Connect API, enabling organisations to access virtual card creation, payment initiation and payment controls through a single integration.
New capabilities include applying multiple control sets at the real card level, allowing businesses to enforce spending policies across all associated virtual cards without exposing sensitive payment credentials. The API also enables virtual card generation and payment initiation within a single workflow, reducing implementation effort for banks, enterprise platforms and corporate customers.
The company says the approach addresses a common challenge facing finance teams, with many organisations continuing to struggle to integrate payment systems with ERP and procurement platforms.
The enhancements build on Mastercard’s embedded virtual card programme, launched in 2025, which is expanding across procurement, expense management, ERP and accounts payable platforms.
Recent integrations include SAP, while partnerships with Emburse, HSBC and several travel technology providers are extending virtual card capabilities into procurement, travel and expense workflows.
Citi has become the first issuer to deploy both Issuer Enforced Controls and enhanced Clearing Controls and is expected to roll out the capabilities globally later this year.
Scott Southall, Global Head of Citi Commercial Cards & Domestic Payments at Citi, said: “Our deep collaboration with Mastercard makes Citi the first issuer to deliver these advanced security capabilities to the market on a global scale. This reflects our commitment to helping clients streamline payments and operate more securely and efficiently around the world.”
Thomas Mehlkopf, general manager and head of Treasury and Working Capital Management CoE at SAP SE, said: “Our partnership with Mastercard marks an important step toward Autonomous Finance, embedding virtual card payments directly into the workflows our customers already run. Putting AI to work automates accounts payable, giving finance teams greater visibility and control at scale, helping organizations strengthen working capital and make it easier to realize the benefits of secure, automated commercial payments, wherever they run SAP.“
Mastercard’s latest platform enhancements reflect the growing demand for embedded, secure and automated B2B payment solutions that integrate directly with procurement and finance systems.
By combining stronger security controls, simplified API integration and an expanding embedded payments ecosystem, the company aims to help procurement teams, finance leaders and financial institutions reduce payment friction, improve visibility across commercial spending and support the wider digital transformation of source-to-pay processes.
Saket Nailwal, regional head of Commercial Cards, MENAT, HSBC, said: “Mobile virtual cards represent an important evolution in how businesses manage payments, combining the control and security of virtual cards with the convenience of mobile wallets. Our collaboration with Mastercard has enabled us to bring this capability to customers in the UAE, providing greater flexibility in how they make payments while maintaining the controls and security businesses expect. We see significant potential for mobile virtual cards as more organizations look for simpler, more secure and digitally enabled ways to manage business payments.”
