Mastercard launches Lisbon Centre of Excellence to drive payment innovation across Europe

By:  Robert Kwaku Annor

Mastercard has officially launched its Lisbon Centre of Excellence for Innovation, reinforcing its strategic focus on advancing digital transformation and next-generation payment solutions across Europe.

The new facility was unveiled in Lisbon during an event attended by senior government officials, including Carlos Moedas and Miguel Pinto Luz, alongside company executives such as Jorn Lambert, Kelly Devine, and Paulo Raposo.

The Lisbon-based Centre of Excellence is designed to accelerate innovation within the payments ecosystem by combining global expertise with local and international talent. The facility employs around 600 technologists working across areas such as software engineering, data science, product development, and technical operations, with a focus on technologies including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data analytics.

As part of the launch, Mastercard demonstrated the first live transaction in Portugal using its Agent Pay framework, a secure agentic commerce solution that enables artificial intelligence agents to initiate and complete transactions on behalf of users in a transparent and secure manner. The demonstration highlighted the company’s push toward redefining digital commerce and payment experiences.

The centre will also support the development of advanced capabilities such as fraud prevention systems powered by AI, tokenisation services for secure digital transactions, identity verification tools, and consulting services for digital transformation. It will further explore emerging payment models, including agent-based commerce and stablecoins.

Speaking at the event, Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas described the initiative as part of the city’s broader strategy to attract high-value investments and create quality jobs. Minister Miguel Pinto Luz emphasized the role of public-private partnerships in accelerating Portugal’s digital transformation and positioning the country as a leader in technological innovation.

Paulo Raposo noted that the new centre strengthens Portugal’s role in Mastercard’s global operations while supporting local economic growth and innovation within the financial ecosystem. Kelly Devine added that the investment reflects Mastercard’s broader European strategy focused on expanding innovation capabilities and enhancing competitiveness across key markets.

The Lisbon Centre of Excellence forms part of Mastercard’s wider investment strategy in Europe, which includes technology hubs in cities such as Madrid, Dublin, and Amsterdam, as well as recent investments in data infrastructure, including the development of new data centres in Paris. The company indicated that these initiatives are aimed at strengthening Europe’s digital payments infrastructure and supporting the shift toward locally authorized transactions and resilient, always-on systems.