Small Businesses Are Incentivized To Embrace Digital With Mastercard And vCita's New App

The following is a contributed article from a content partner of Benzinga

Small businesses grappling with the best way to go digital have been handed a lifeline courtesy of Mastercard. The payment processor has teamed up with CRM software developer vCita to create an all-in-one app that bundles everything they need to capitalize on digital systems.

The app, Business Unusual, is arriving at a time when the world is adjusting to a web-first model of interacting with friends, colleagues, customers, and clients, and many businesses are still struggling to make the digital leap. Luckily, the new service is entering into an already robust digital CRM ecosystem for SMEs looking to migrate.

Migration Made Easy

vCita has significant experience in the digital CRM arena, having built its business around CRM tools for SMEs, allowing solopreneurs and small teams to minimize time-consuming tasks like scheduling, freeing them to focus on their core operations.

However, having to readjust inefficient systems further down the line can be costly. And with a plethora of SaaS options to choose from, it can be hard knowing where to start.

The Business Unusual app offers SMEs a platform designed to enable the move to web-based systems in an organized and efficient manner. it accomplishes this by aggregating tools for billing, invoicing, and scheduling into a single application. This, combined with educational resources that show micro businesses the best way to incorporate digital into their existing setup, can ultimately help SMEs minimize disruption as owners and employees adapt to the new digital framework.

Big on Small Business

Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the economy, representing 99% of all enterprises in the EU. Through its partner network, Mastercard has a track record for supporting their growth and providing various tools to facilitate this.

In early April, Mastercard revealed that it was pledging $250M to help small businesses including free cyber vulnerability assessments and identity theft protection. It’s also extended access to its STEM curriculum Girls4Tech, to help parents and teachers engage and inspire kids, at a time when much of the world is learning and working from home.

Hoping to further support SMEs during the current uncertain environment, Business Unusual is offering a free three months trial of the platform upon sign-up, supplying a trove of resources for navigating the digital environment. 

“Building [Business Unusual], we’ve relied on two of our most meaningful relationships,” explained Adi Engel, CBDO of vCita. “The first, with the entrepreneurial community that surrounds us: vCita users who rallied to offer their advice and support to their peers in navigating an uncertain economic landscape; and the second, with the like-minded team at Mastercard, who share our strong belief that by working together we can help businesses who are the backbone of our economies emerge on the other side stronger.”

vCita specialized in cloud-based solutions for SMEs, with a focus on automating tasks like scheduling, payment collection, and marketing. Its partnership with Mastercard will help to amplify the company’s services while providing practical support for businesses that have been forced to adapt to a dramatically altered landscape. 

Businesses can no longer afford to neglect their online presence and must develop a well-rounded skill set to excel at lead generation, selling, payments, and overseeing a remote workforce, many of whom now work from home. Platforms like Business Unusual can help SMEs achieve that by helping them focus on the tasks that matter and minimizing time spent on non-revenue generating activities.