Who says there is no competition in the cards world?
The European Commission has continuosly stressed the need for a pan-European card scheme as an alternative to Visa and MasterCard. The chief argument goes that the existing duopoly of the two giants...
View Article“Dear Banker, I would like a MasterCard, please”
Many industry commentators who attended MasterCard’s Worldwide Media and Analyst Symposium on September 23rd in Purchase, NY noted the confident tone of the company, the energetic and fired-up...
View ArticleGoogle Mobile Wallet: A Big Step for Payments
Yesterday Google announced a new mobile wallet in partnership with Citibank, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint. Is it significant? Yes, very. Why? For a number of reasons. First and foremost, mobile...
View ArticleWin Win Win
Walter Wriston, former Chairman and CEO of Citi once said, “Information about money has become almost as important as money itself.” Google gets it. Up to this point I have been skeptical of the NFC...
View ArticleLife After Durbin: The Gloves Are Coming Off
This week Visa held its earnings call and one of the key announcements was a pricing restructuring. In what appears to be a direct response to Durbin regulations, Visa is lowering its variable...
View ArticleDoes EU Really Want to Ban Card Interchange?
Just as PayPal in the US was gearing up to challenge the established order of payment networks (see my previous blog), on the other side of the Atlantic, MasterCard (MA) received news that the European...
View ArticleGoogle Wallet Relaunches and Takes on PayPal at Its Own Game
They say, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” In my report last year I contrasted Google Wallet and PayPal as representatives of two fundamentally distinct approaches seeking to win in the...
View ArticleThe Relentless Drive of Payments Innovation
I just came back from three weeks of being on the road. I ran a workshop on merchant-funded rewards at Merchant Payments Ecosystem event in Berlin, presented on mobile payments at Celent’s own (and...
View ArticleWeve and MasterCard Collaborate on UK Mobile Payments
I’ve been following today various news reports about the announcement that Weve and MasterCard have partnered to drive forward contactless mobile payments in the UK. I am still hoping to speak to my...
View ArticleThe Networks’ Support for HCE Breathes Life Into NFC Payments
In my report on Top Trends in Retail Payments published a few weeks ago, I wrote the following paragraph: “Of course, doubts remain over HCE. For example, the payment schemes are yet to clarify on...
View ArticleWhat MasterCards’ Acquisition of VocaLink might mean
Today, MasterCard announced the acquisition of VocaLink in the UK. Before I start I should say I have worked for both organisations, and any comments that I make are mine, and nor am I mentioning...
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The Future of Zapp and Other Musings on MasterCard and VocaLink
Yesterday, my colleague Gareth shared on these pages his first thoughts after the announcement that MasterCard is buying VocaLink. I agree with his points, but also wanted to add some of my own...
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