Creators have another sign that big financial companies are increasingly looking at them as business owners: Mastercard is helping launch a debit card designed specifically for the creative economy.
Manifest Financial announced Thursday that it is partnering with Mastercard on the Manifest Business Debit Mastercard, which combines a business bank account and card with tools to manage a creator’s income, expenses, invoices, taxes, and payments.
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The card is designed for creatives whose finances may look very different from those of the average worker. Instead of receiving one predictable paycheck, creators may earn money through platform payments, product partnerships, subscriptions, merchandise, affiliate links, exposure, and other projects. Those payments can come at different times, from different companies, and sometimes in different currencies.
Manifest says its platform is designed to bring more of that financial work into one place. Creators can use it to accept payments, access instant payments, send invoices, monitor expenses and cash flow, prepare taxes, and manage income from multiple sources. The platform also supports cross-border payments for creators working with international brands, platforms, or audiences.
Because it’s a debit card, users use money stored in their Manifest business accounts rather than borrowing through a line of credit. The card is issued by MVB Bank, an FDIC-insured institution, and operates in the MasterCard network.
Cardholders also receive several existing Mastercard business benefits, including automatic merchant discounts with Mastercard Easy Savings, fraud monitoring, identity theft protection, credit protection for unauthorized transactions, and access to other dining, travel, and entertainment options.
“Innovators are building some of today’s strongest small businesses,” said Ginger Siegel, head of small and medium businesses for Mastercard in North America, in a statement. “They manage customers, cash flow, taxes, global audiences, and multiple sources of revenue often without tools designed for how they work.”
Creators have business problems, too
Financial companies have been laying the groundwork for this topic for several years as many creators try to turn their audiences into sustainable businesses.
Creators face many of the same expenses and management responsibilities as other entrepreneurs, but their income can be unpredictable. A brand may take weeks or months to pay an invoice, while revenue from streaming gifts, subscriptions, affiliate sales, and platform revenue may follow different payment schedules.
A Visa survey in April 2026 found that 86 percent of creator-owned businesses are self-funded, and 49 percent have received late payments. Late payments affect creative companies, too: in a 2025 study, 97 percent of marketing and creative agencies experienced them, leading some to postpone or cancel growth plans.
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Siegel made a similar case in Mastercard’s 2025 profile of sports developer Tyler Webb, who turned a football account into a marketing career and later founded the Uncle Charlie sports agency.
“Creators who turn their passions into their work need to start thinking of themselves as small businesses,” Siegel said at the time.
That means separating personal and business expenses, setting aside money for taxes, monitoring cash flow, and paying production costs while waiting to get paid — parts of a creator’s job that rarely show up in a finished TikTok or YouTube video.
Webb put it bluntly: “I don’t think it’s gotten any easier to make a career as a creator, but I can’t just fall out of bed, post my video, and be a millionaire.”
Mastercard isn’t the only card company chasing creators
The Manifest card comes three months after Visa partnered with TikTok on its creator-focused debit card in the UK.
Announced in April, the TikTok Creator Card is designed for creators who earn money through TikTok LIVE, where viewers can buy physical gifts that creators can exchange for money. Those benefits often come in bills rather than a regular salary, and the card gives qualified creators quick access to their payments while helping them separate business and personal finances.
Visa also explored a partnership with financial platform creator Karat and worked with payments company Lumanu to offer real-time payments to creators and contractors.
Mastercard has developed its own creative efforts beyond the Manifest partnership. Its previous programs have included Business Builder debit and credit cards with resources for small businesses, educational materials on brand relationships and business performance, and creator-focused events such as the Mastercard Creator Studio at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The interest of both card networks shows how much the business around online content has grown. Adobe estimates that more than 300 million people worldwide identify as creators, while Goldman Sachs projects the creator economy to reach $480 billion by 2027.
That doesn’t mean that everyone who posts online uses a profitable company. But mature creatives make the most of teams, negotiate contracts, sell products, manage clients, and build businesses that extend beyond their social media accounts.
Manifest, which went public in April 2025, has expanded its platform to include content, music, college athletics, NIL, talent representation, and creative agencies. Its new Mastercard is an attempt to be the account that connects all those different ways of income for the creator.
“Creators are the next innovators,” said Manifest founder and CEO Michael Cavallaro.
Creators have spent years being told to behave like businesses. Now, Mastercard and Visa want to make sure they have cards to match.
