Through a partnership with Subaio, Mastercard is offering an in-demand service that could help banks wrest power from third-party providers and reduce costly chargebacks. 

Consumer subscription fatigue is real and the resultant chargeback costs can be steep, so Mastercard launched a product that can save time and money for both banks and their customers.  

The technology will allow customers to see all their subscriptions within their banking app and unsubscribe to goods or services automatically without having to contact the merchant directly. Banks can enable the new subscription management tool, created through Mastercard’s partnership with fintech Subaio, through an API. 

Mastercard’s pitch to banks is that offering this tool to their customers can help reduce chargeback disputes, pressure on call centers, and operational costs in general. They’d also have ownership over a value-add service, which could increase customer goodwill and loyalty.  

Some banks already make it easy for customers to automatically track subscriptions (for example, Capital One’s Eno chatbot will display all recurring payments), but third-party tools like Rocket Money and PocketGuard have so far dominated subscription cancellation and management. This product would give banks ownership over that capability.  

Mastercard first started working with Subaoi through its Start Path program, which engages dozens of fintechs per year, and this latest launch is a proving point for that model.