Mastercard Send: How the push payment platform works and what it powers
September 13, 2026
Push payments send money to a recipient’s card in minutes rather than days, and Mastercard Send is Mastercard’s platform for processing them. For businesses paying sellers, drivers, or contractors, the processor they use can affect how quickly funds arrive, which cards are supported, and what each payout costs. Finix is a certified direct processor that provides payment and payout solutions for software companies, marketplaces, and growing businesses. This article explains how the process works and what Mastercard Send can power.
Mastercard Send is how Mastercard delivers push payments: transactions sent from a business to a recipient without requiring the business to collect their bank account or routing details, or send a check in the mail. Rather than signing up for it with the network directly, access runs through a payment processor or an originating institution.
Finix supports instant payouts to eligible Visa and Mastercard debit cards, alongside next-day and same-day bank account payouts, so businesses can match the payout method and speed to the use case. For card payouts, businesses can initiate the transfer using the recipient’s eligible card number rather than their bank account details.
In this guide, you'll learn what Mastercard Send is, how it differs from Mastercard Move, how a push payment reaches a card, and how businesses access Mastercard Send through a processor. It also covers common use cases, card eligibility, and the factors that can affect when funds arrive.
What is Mastercard Send?
Mastercard Send is Mastercard's push payment platform for sending funds to an eligible debit or prepaid card, bank account, or a digital wallet. For a push-to-card payout, the business or app initiating the transfer supplies the recipient's card number, and the money moves over Mastercard's network to the account behind that card.
A push-to-card payout runs in the opposite direction from a normal card purchase. A purchase pulls money from a cardholder toward a merchant. Mastercard Send pushes money from an originating business toward a cardholder, using the same connections between banks that already carry everyday purchases.
Mastercard Send vs. Mastercard Move: What's the difference?
Mastercard Send is a product. Mastercard Move is the portfolio that contains it.
Send handles domestic and cross-border push payments to cards, bank accounts, and wallets. Mastercard Move sits above it as the umbrella for Mastercard's money movement solutions, which also include Mastercard Cross-Border Services.
For a US company paying US recipients, Send can handle the transaction. Some cross-border card transfers can also run through Send, while other international transfers may use Mastercard Cross-Border Services, which can involve currency conversion and different arrival times..
How does Mastercard Send push a payment to a card?
Mastercard Send uses the card network to move funds in the opposite direction from a card purchase.
The payout travels as a Payment Transaction, which credits the recipient's account instead of debiting it. If the sender funds the transfer from a card, that leg runs as a Funding Transaction, which secures the funds before the Payment Transaction sends them to the recipient. Both messages use the connections between banks that carry ordinary purchases.
Originating a push-to-card payment
The originating institution submits the Payment Transaction on behalf of the business sending the money. That business supplies the recipient's card number and the amount. It does not need the recipient's bank account or routing details.
Mastercard routes the message to the bank that issued the card, which credits the account linked to it. The business never sees the recipient's bank account details, and the recipient never shares them.
Recipient requirements and card eligibility
Eligible debit and prepaid cards can receive a Mastercard Send payout. Credit card eligibility varies by issuer and by the program a business is enrolled in, so it’s confirmed on a case-by-case basis rather than assumed.
The originating institution runs an eligibility check on the card number before sending. That check returns whether the card can accept a credit and how fast the funds should arrive, which gives the sending business an answer before it commits to the payout.
For a direct push-to-card payout, recipients don’t need to take any action to receive their money. There’s no account to open, no app to download, and no confirmation to click.
Settlement timing and how funds reach the recipient
Funds reach the card within seconds to 30 minutes, depending on the issuing bank. For issuers enabled for faster funds, Mastercard's program standard sets the outer bound at 30 minutes from authorization, and fast issuers deliver money into the account almost immediately.
That window affects what your business can promise. A support team can confirm money has landed while the recipient is still on the call, and a product can show a payout as complete instead of pending.
How does a platform get access to Mastercard Send?
A platform gets access to Mastercard Send through a direct processor like Finix or an originating institution, not by contracting with Mastercard directly. Mastercard runs the network and sets the rules. The institution connected to that network is the one permitted to submit a payout on your behalf.
The partner you choose determines your per-payout cost, which payout speeds you can offer, and how quickly you can get help with a failed payout. It also determines how many parties sit between your product and the card networks, because some providers reach Mastercard through another processor instead of managing the connection themselves.
If you’re looking to add Mastercard Send payouts to your business model, ask any prospective partner which payout speeds it supports today, what each one costs per payout, and whether it holds a direct connection to Mastercard or routes through a third party.
What does Mastercard Send power?
Mastercard Send powers payouts wherever a business owes money to someone who would otherwise wait days for it. Common examples include:
Gig earnings payouts: A driver or courier finishes a shift and cashes out the same evening, without waiting for a weekly batch to clear.
Marketplace seller payouts: A seller receives proceeds shortly after a sale settles, which shortens the gap between shipping goods and having money to restock.
Insurance claim payouts: A carrier sends an approved claim to the policyholder's card, replacing a check that can take days to arrive and clear.
Lending disbursements: A lender funds an approved loan within minutes, giving the borrower fast access to the money after they accept the offer.
Refunds and goodwill payments: A business returns money to a customer's card directly, without reversing the original charge or waiting on a settlement cycle.
The common thread between these businesses is timing pressure. A gig company competes for drivers who choose the app that pays out the fastest. A lender competes for a borrower who will take the offer that funds them today.
Speed is the product feature, and the payout rail is what delivers it.
How Finix supports payouts via Mastercard Send
Finix is a certified direct processor with its own connections to Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. For Mastercard Send payouts, its direct connection to Mastercard affects what you can offer recipients and what each one costs you.
Direct network access, no extra layers
Finix holds a direct connection to Mastercard instead of reaching the network through a third party. A payout you submit goes to Finix and out to the network, without another processor in between.
You’ll feel the difference most when a payout fails. With a reseller in the middle, a decline explanation travels back through an extra party before it reaches you, and your recipient may wait longer for an answer. Finix reads the network response directly and passes it to you.
Payout speed you can match to the use case
Finix supports next-day, same-day, and instant payouts, so you can price the timing against the moment. Instant payouts suit gig earnings, where money that lands tonight decides which app gets opened tomorrow. Next-day payouts suit routine seller settlements, where nobody is watching the clock.
Integration paths for sending payouts
Teams with engineering resources can integrate payouts through the Finix API and control the full flow. But if you don’t have developers on deck, you can still use no-code solutions like payout links and dashboard workflows to send money without needing to understand the technical layer. Both paths can reach the same networks at the same speeds. The choice depends on what your roadmap can absorb this quarter, and payouts start moving either way.
If you’re looking for a reliable payouts solution for your business with direct connections to Mastercard and Visa, reach out to one of our payouts experts today to see if Finix is right for you.