Mastercard’s Small Business Navigator Aims to Level up Small Businesses

Filled with ideas and enthusiasm, U.S. small businesses have the drive to grow their businesses, but a low availability of tools and resources may hamper some of that ambition. Mastercard Inc. says its new Small Business Navigator can help with that.

The program offers education, insights, protection, and planning tools, and is available to all merchants, whether or not they hold a Mastercard credit or debit card.

Specifically, the program includes an artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot to help with questions, access to data from the Mastercard Economics Institute and the Mastercard SpendingPulse report, and educational content from Mastercard and its partners.

In the security realm, Mastercard provides access to its My Cyber Risk tool that can help merchants improve their protection against fraud and similar threats. Participants also can receive a personalized report with recommendations based on results from the Mastercard Cybersecurity Assessment Quiz.

The third component of Small Business Navigator includes access to Biz2Credit’s Virtual CFO service and the potential to be featured in Mastercard’s social-media channels. Biz2Credit Inc. is a New York City-based small-business financing provider.

The new service will use those social-media channels to help make small business owners aware of the service, says Ginger Siegel, Mastercard’s head of U.S. small business. The card brand also will promote it in partner channels, at small-business events, and within the Mastercard Small Business Community, an online resource for entrepreneurs, she says.

“Mastercard Small Business Navigator is built to be flexible and intuitive. Small businesses can select the tools and insights most relevant to their needs—whether it’s improving cybersecurity, understanding customer trends, or managing cash flow,” Siegel says. “We’ll continue to evolve the experience based on user feedback, with scalability and ease of integration in mind.”

Most of the services within the program are free or available on a no-cost trial basis for a fixed term. “This gives small business owners the chance to explore and benefit from leading solutions—without commitment—so they can try what works for them before deciding to invest further,” Siegel says.

Participants can select the tools and services they need, she says, “whether it’s improving cybersecurity, understanding customer trends, or managing cash flow. We’ll continue to evolve the experience based on user feedback, with scalability and ease of integration in mind.”