Mastercard Welcomes PocketSmith Into the Start Path Program To Accelerate Open Banking Innovation

New Zealand-based PocketSmith, a market leader in personal finance software, has been selected to join Mastercard’s global Start Path Open Banking and Embedded Finance program.

PocketSmith enables Home CFOs to understand their finances and plan ahead. It has customers in 190 countries and offers connectivity to nearly every bank worldwide.

The program offers PocketSmith access to Mastercard’s cutting-edge technology, data connectivity, analytics solutions, and its vast ecosystem of banks, merchants, partners, and digital players.

Jason Leong, CEO and co-founder of PocketSmith, has been impressed with the passion and dedication demonstrated by the Mastercard team, particularly their holistic approach towards innovation and partnerships.

“We’re proud to have spent the last 16 years bringing financial inclusion to consumers worldwide through our products and services. As our journey today intersects with Mastercard’s, we embrace the opportunity to see the problem with fresh eyes. We look forward to working together to understand how to better democratise finance through open banking.

“Consumers deserve frictionless access to their financial data, which is essential for making informed and effective decisions. The increasing complexity of our personal finances should be matched with increased transparency and control. Open banking has the potential to make this a reality, but its successful implementation relies on collaboration in the fintech space.”

“As the fintech landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace, Mastercard is embracing opportunities to support and collaborate with companies to build the future of open banking innovation through the Start Path engagement program,” says Sabrina Tharani, SVP of Global Fintech Programs at Mastercard.

“Mastercard has selected PocketSmith to join its ecosystem of innovators and will provide opportunities to access its network of partners, mentorship opportunities and resources to support their scaling journey.”

Jason recently spoke with Owen Rask about PocketSmith’s story on the Australian Business Podcast. They discussed the problems the company set out to solve, why it never took VC funding, and how it celebrates individuality as a core value.