BMO & Mastercard launch embedded virtual card service

BMO and Mastercard have launched an embedded commercial payments service for corporate card clients in Canada and the United States. The arrangement makes BMO the first Mastercard issuer in Canada to offer this type of virtual card payment integration within participating software platforms.

The service lets eligible BMO Corporate Card clients initiate and manage virtual card payments from within the enterprise software they already use for procurement, finance, accounts payable and travel management. It targets workflows that have often required separate systems, banking portals, and manual intervention.

Under the arrangement, BMO Commercial virtual cards are integrated into participating software platforms through Mastercard's Commercial Express framework. This lets users pay supplier invoices, travel costs, and corporate expenses without leaving their main operating systems.

The move reflects a broader push by banks and card networks to place payment tools directly inside business software rather than requiring finance teams to switch between platforms. For corporate treasury and accounts payable teams, the goal is to combine payment initiation, approval and reconciliation in one place.

The new option is available to eligible clients through participating enterprise software platforms in both countries. BMO did not identify the software providers involved.

Embedded payments

The framework is designed to give software platforms a standard way to support issuer-backed virtual card payments. BMO and Mastercard said that a common structure should reduce the work needed to connect platforms with issuers and could help broader adoption across the commercial payments market.

Virtual cards are becoming a larger part of business-to-business payments as companies seek tighter spending controls and better visibility into transactions. They can be set with specific spending parameters and typically generate data that supports reconciliation, making them attractive for invoice payments and managed travel spend.

For finance departments, fragmentation has been a key challenge. Procurement, enterprise resource planning and travel systems may hold the operational data behind a transaction, while payment approval and execution often happen elsewhere. That can create delays, duplicate work and gaps in oversight.

BMO said its new service is designed to address those issues by keeping payment activity within the systems where treasury and finance teams already work. It also cited improved working capital management and greater spending control as expected benefits.

"As our Corporate Card clients digitize their operations, they expect us to integrate seamlessly into their existing workflows," said Seth Blacher, Head of TPS Product Management and Payments Modernization, BMO.

"This partnership with Mastercard lets us deliver exactly that by removing the friction between finance software and payment execution, creating a more streamlined payment experience," Blacher said.

North America focus

The launch covers Canada and the US, where large companies have continued to invest in finance automation and digital procurement tools. By offering the same model in both countries, BMO and Mastercard are targeting businesses with cross-border operations that want more consistent payment processes within their software environments.

Mastercard said payments need to move with day-to-day business activity as companies digitise more of their operations. The card network has been working with banks and software providers to embed virtual card functionality directly into business platforms rather than relying on separate payment channels.

"As businesses digitize their operations, payments must move seamlessly alongside day-to-day business activities," said Diane Miquelon, Senior Vice President, Financial Institutions Partnerships, Mastercard Canada.

"By embedding Mastercard's virtual card capabilities directly into the platforms where treasury and finance teams operate, we are removing friction, enhancing payment security, and helping organizations optimize working capital management with greater control and predictability," Miquelon said.

BMO is the eighth-largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.5 trillion as of July 31, 2026. The lender operates across personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking in Canada, the US and selected international markets.