Mastercard said it agreed to buy the account-to-account business from Denmark-based payments firm Nets A/S for $3.19 billion (2.85 billion euros). 

Mastercard said the business includes the instant payments and clearing business as well as the e-billing business of Nets' Corporate Services unit. 

"The global opportunity for real-time payments is accelerating," Michael Miebach, chief product and innovation officer at Mastercard, said in a company release. "This deal strengthens our unique position as the one-stop partner for any bank, merchant or government's payment needs."

The Nets Corporate Services business provided managed services and software license models in several European markets. The business also offered bill payment services in Norway and Denmark as well as open banking solutions for banks and fintechs. 

Mastercard said the acquisition will give it unrivaled capabilities in three areas: 

• Infrastructure — complementing existing technologies and catering to a larger customer base. 
• Greater speed and scale in the bill payment and open banking areas. 
• Value added services like data analytics and fraud protection. 

The deal is expected to close by the first half of 2020.