Sage plans to add business accounts and debit cards to its accounting software in France, giving small companies a way to handle payments and connect banking activity to their books.
Sage announced partnerships with Adyen and Mastercard on Nov. 10. Sage 50, Sage 100 and Sage Active are slated for the first implementation in France. Adyen is expected to provide banking infrastructure and customer onboarding, while Mastercard would supply the debit card network.
The proposed service would let customers make payments and use debit cards to manage company spending, Sage said. Banking activity would connect to the company’s accounting tools. Sage says customers could use the service alongside their current banks.
Research published in January points to demand for financial products within business software. Oliver Wyman said 53% of respondents to its survey of more than 150 small and midsize businesses across France, Germany and the Netherlands preferred to access such products through accounting or enterprise resource planning software.
The consultancy said embedded financial services could give software providers additional revenue and help them retain customers. It also said simpler operations could benefit small businesses, while established banking relationships might discourage them from adopting a new service.
In July 2024, Sage expanded its partnership with Stripe to cover payment processing, Tap to Pay and automatic reconciliation of bank transfers. The Adyen and Mastercard plan would add accounts and debit cards to the financial functions Sage is bringing into its software.
France is the first market Sage has named for the account and card service. The company expects to expand it to other European markets where it operates, though its approach and providers may differ by country. Sage’s Nov. 10 announcement gave no launch date or pricing for France.
