The Medical Tourism Association will utilize Mastercard’s commercial virtual card technology to go beyond arranging treatments to also facilitating fast and secure payments with healthcare providers.

This marks a first-of-its-kind move for the medical tourism industry, which has largely remained reliant on cash and wire transfers, leading to a lack of financial transparency and limited payment options for individuals seeking treatments abroad. Insights from a recent Medical Tourism Patient Survey reveal that over half of patients globally expressed concerns over international payments[1] due to hidden costs, exchange rate complexities and greater fraud risk, demonstrating a clear need to improve the payment process.

“As a global technology company, we’re constantly innovating to solve pain points across multiple industries and simplify the way money flows across people and businesses,” said Chad Wallace, global head of Commercial Solutions at Mastercard, “We’re embedding our technologies to drive safer and faster payment experiences at scale, and this latest collaboration unlocks our ability to further extend the advantages of Mastercard virtual cards to reimagine the healthcare ecosystem.”

Patients will be able to simply book and pay for their treatment using a payment method of their choice, and the MTA seamlessly handles the rest by leveraging Mastercard’s virtual card technology. As soon as the payment is initiated and validated, the MTA’s banking partner will issue a Mastercard virtual card to pay the healthcare provider directly. Introducing virtual cards also brings a range of benefits to providers. These include increased security, robust controls, and real-time remittance data for more efficient reconciliation.

To go beyond solving the pain points in healthcare payments, the MTA is developing Better by MTA, a new user-friendly platform integrated with Mastercard’s payment capabilities that aims to bring medical and travel services together. From paying for and scheduling a procedure to reserving corresponding travel, transportation and lodging, patients will be able to confidently manage every aspect of their journey within the same platform. Better by MTA is intended to simplify your travel choices, streamline the payment process, and allow you to effortlessly compare care options – replacing multiple booking tools with a connected, one-stop experience for your medical travel needs.

“For nearly two decades, we have played a critical role in providing affordable, transparent and high-quality healthcare by connecting patients with an extensive network of trusted, accredited providers worldwide,” said Jonathan Edelheit, chairman & co-founder of the Medical Tourism Association, “Developing a single interface with integrated Mastercard payment capabilities and services is a critical step in our mission to make quality healthcare secure and accessible across borders.”

Mastercard and the MTA are first launching these new payment capabilities with several healthcare providers around the world and plan to expand to more providers globally by the end of 2024.