Product Management Intern - Summer 2027

Mastercard champions a more connected digital future for Africa at GITEX Nigeria 2026. Sponsored September 26, 2026 9:18 am As Africa's digital economy continues to evolve, the conversation is shifting from adoption to value creation. At GITEX Nigeria 2026, held in Abuja and Lagos from August 31 to September 3,Mastercard brought together perspectives on interoperability, financial innovation, local capability, and cybersecurity, highlighting the critical building blocks needed to create a more connected, inclusive, and trusted digital economy.

Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe, and Visa, as initial founding partners, invested in Open Standard and provided over $1 billion in startup liquidity for its stablecoin, Open USD, which targets banking, cross-border payments, settlements, and institutional trading scenarios. Zach Abrams was appointed as the CEO of Open Standard.

Mastercard tackles SME security gap with built in protection. September 25, 2026 Mark Barnett, Head of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at Mastercard, says SMEs understand cybersecurity matters, as the company targets the adoption gap Small businesses have historically been a step behind in cybersecurity compared to the big corporations with specialised teams that secure their systems. Mastercard's inaugural Dreamonomics Report backs this, with 71% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) noting that protection from cyber threats is a priority, while only 37% currently use cybersecurity tools. The research shows that business owners maintain expansion plans but are adjusting how they define sustainable growth. Research maps SME priorities. Mastercard commissioned Hypothesis to conduct the Dreamonomics study across more than 6,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 18 countries. According to the research, small businesses are evaluating growth through a lens of stability and control rather than speed. The study found business owners are prioritising predictable revenue streams. They are seeking to manage operational complexity while addressing cyber threats. Mastercard argues these three areas are connected requirements rather than separate considerations. The need to embed protection within services. The Dreamonomics research identified a gap between cyber risk recognition and deployment of security tools among SMEs. "One of the clearest insights from our Dreamonomics research is that small business owners understand cybersecurity matters," Mark Barnett, Head of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at Mastercard, tells Cyber Magazine. "Its research shows that 78% of SMEs view integrated tools as critical, which reinforces the need for solutions that fit seamlessly into the products and platforms they already use. "That's why Cyber Magazine believe cybersecurity should be built into the financial tools businesses rely on every day, rather than offered as a separate service that requires additional effort to understand or implement. The responsibility falls on providers to reduce complexity and make protection easy to adopt Mark Barnett, Head of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at Mastercard "Protection needs to be part of the experience, whether that's fraud prevention, cyber risk assessments, identity solutions or business controls." He argues that security must be easy to adopt for resource-constrained small businesses. "Small business owners are managing cash flow, serving customers and running day-to-day operations," Mark says. "They do not have the time or resources to become cybersecurity experts. The responsibility falls on providers to reduce complexity and make protection easy to adopt." How Mastercard Collection for Business integrates security. Mastercard launched the Mastercard Collection for Business to address the adoption gap. The suite is available to eligible World Business, World Elite Business and World Legend Business debit and credit cardholders in selected markets. The collection combines security, productivity and lifestyle services. Business security features include My Cyber Risk, which provides an assessment of an SME's online exposure and highlights vulnerabilities through a dashboard. Business growth tools include AI-powered productivity applications and Priceless Experiences for Business. The programme provides access to ideas, skills and professional networks. Business lifestyle services cover travel, dining and entertainment. Features include airport dining clubs, Fast Track lanes, priority reservations and curated experiences. Payments infrastructure as delivery layer. Mastercard is using its commercial card footprint as the underlying transaction and benefit delivery mechanism. The approach creates scope for issuers and commercial payment partners to combine cards with visibility, security and expense management capabilities. Mastercard has described the initiative as part of an SME support system intended to propel, protect and power businesses. The company states the programme extends into commercial activity connected to events including the TCS New York City Marathon and the Australian Open. The system could help local businesses prepare for temporary surges in customer traffic and spending during these events. Further benefits are planned for additional markets. The research identifies several signals that matter for B2B financial-services providers: * 68% of SMEs prioritise stability and predictability over fast growth * 54% of SMEs say they actively avoid unnecessary financial risk * 61% of SMEs prefer deepening customer relationships to reaching the greatest possible number of customers * SMEs use five digital business tools on average, yet 89% want to adopt more * 78% of SMEs say integrated tools are critical, making simplicity a commercial-growth issue rather than merely an operational consideration * 71% of SMEs regard protection from cyber threats as a priority, but only 37% currently use cybersecurity tools * 70% of entrepreneurs are excited by AI's potential, with 41% specifically citing fraud and security protection as a promising use case. Key partners. Mastercard acquired Recorded Future to add cyber-threat intelligence to its wider identity, fraud-prevention and cybersecurity capabilities. The combined proposition is particularly relevant to banks, acquirers and merchants because Mastercard Threat Intelligence combines payment-fraud insights with Recorded Future's threat intelligence to help teams identify and respond to cyber-enabled fraud. Cloudflare and Mastercard have partnered on cyber defence aimed at critical infrastructure and small businesses. It is a useful editorial reference because Cloudflare brings web, network and application-security expertise, while Mastercard contributes payment-network reach, fraud intelligence and SME relevance. Mastercard made a strategic minority investment in Picus Security to support its Cyber Front attack-simulation and assessment platform. Picus helps organisations validate the effectiveness of their security controls; Mastercard has positioned the capability as part of cyber-resilience consulting for businesses and governments. RiskRecon, a Mastercard company, provides third-party cyber-risk assessment using outside-in scanning and evaluation technologies. It is highly relevant for financial institutions and enterprise buyers managing vendor, supplier and supply-chain exposure - an increasingly important issue in payments, banking and financial crime operations. CipherTrace is Mastercard's cryptocurrency-intelligence business, acquired to strengthen capabilities in blockchain analytics, digital-asset risk and financial-crime compliance. It is a strong fit if the article wants to broaden the cybersecurity lens beyond cards and SME tools to include digital assets, anti-money-laundering controls and transaction monitoring. Company Portals