Start Path was launched in Europe at the end of 2013 with an objective to help early stage startups grow their businesses by opening the door to pilot opportunities with MasterCard and its international network of established technology partners and customers.

In September, the card scheme announced that it would extend the search beyond European borders to create a global forum. To qualify, companies needed to already have a live product on the market and to have secured seed or Series A investment.

“Through our local efforts to support developing fintech partners, we quickly saw the need for a more globally-inclusive program that provides startups access to new markets without uprooting them,” says Stephane Wyper, global lead for MasterCard Start Path. “This programme creates just that - a geographically diverse way to help some of those new to the market build partnerships with more established players as a way to accelerate their growth.”

The inaugural class include payments analytics outfit Control, PFM firm Moneytree, UK-based artificial intelligence company Rainbird, and VAT expense manager VATBox.

During the next six months, they will take part in immersion weeks hosted in Berlin and Singapore and receive ongoing virtual support from the MasterCard network. will also be invited to attend the first Start Path Global Partner Summit where they’ll have the chance to engage with a group of more than 20 companies in banking, retail, and technology including Rakuten, Samsung Card, Tsys, Target, Bank of Montreal, and Santander InnoVentures.

Paul Chapman, chief executive office of Moneytree, says: “We find MasterCard Start Path Global compelling because it is not a corporate accelerator — instead it is a partnership built to fit the needs of our business.”