Mastercard warns: invest or face economic consequences.
Many UK businesses are struggling
to expand and develop to their full potential due to a lack of proper
investment into new technologies such as alternative payment methods, a senior Mastercard
executive has told CBR.
Marcia Clay, the groups' UK and
Ireland head of strategy and commercial development, explained that UK
consumers are increasingly calling for innovative
technologies such as mobile payments as they look to simplify their
everyday lives.
"I believe we need to
prioritise support for innovative start-ups, businesses in the eCommerce and
mobile payments sector for example, which are in a unique position to propel
the UK economy forward in 2014 and beyond," she said.
Clay detailed how Mastercard is
working with London-based Startupbootcamp FinTech, providing the expertise,
mentoring and access to a network of industry professionals that most
early-stage FinTech start-ups would not be able to access otherwise.
Mastercard has found that many
small businesses still do not use electronic payments, despite almost 80% of UK
businesses having a website or some sort of online presence. A much smaller
percentage can currently accept card payments, and the company believes that
businesses of all sizes should be encouraged to invest in new technology and services
that give consumers more choice.
The company also found that UK
consumers are using mobile
and contactless payment methods and wide-spread adoption is reaching a
critical mass; with around 5.7m transactions taking place on UK smartphones
every day. This has been spurred on by a major growth in contactless payments,
which grew by 383% from 2012 to 2013 across the country as more UK banks began
rolling out the technology.
Figures released today by the
British Bankers Association show that more than 15,000 people are downloading
banking apps every day, with transactions
using the internet or mobile banking methods are now worth £6.4bn a week up
from £5.8bn last year.
"It is important to always
understand what really matters to consumers," Clay says. "Through our
research we have identified what really matters is feeling safe and secure from
fraud, whether it be physical point of sale or online, experiencing a simple
and speedy process, and confidence that wherever they are, whatever they are
doing their payment method will be excepted.
"The UK is leading, but the
world is catching up with us and if UK businesses don't embrace the fast
evolution of commerce, we will be left behind."
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