Interview: How To Make Payments More Convenient – Experience From Transportation Sector

During Payment Forum EXEX, we asked Johan Envall, the VP of MasterCard, what are the experiences with contactless payments and how MasterCard plans to develop the payments' sphere in the near future.

Which devices for contactless payments are available today and why are these important?

The most common are cards, smart phones and wearables like watches, bracelets and such. Some people even have a chip under the skin, that can be used for payments. Conctactless payments are very influential because they make payments faster and more convenient. Since the developments are heading to a cardfree payment, contactless technology is decisive.

What is the feedback from MasterCard's customers?

We have only gotten very positive feedback. Card owners enjoy the contactless payments’ system, especially the younger generation. 49% of European users found that the speed of the contactless payment is the most important factor. 73% of European users believe that mobile contactless payment is a convenient way to pay. Some statistics about the number of contactless payment transactions (2016 IIIQ):

Region/Country	Contactless payments/all transactions
Europe	19%
Czech Republic	83%
Poland	66%
Hungary	57%
Slovakia	52%
Spain	15%
Netherlands	20%
UK	15%

 

In your opinion, what are the most interesting examples of using contactless payments?

Contactless payments are used and working well in most of the business sectors. And not only for small transactions – it can be used for bigger payments together with PIN-code. One of the most interesting area is the payments in transportation sector. There are many ways of using the technology, starting from contactless cards up to using smart phones and wearables for NFC payments. Additionally, you could use smartphone apps to buy tickets and validate these for example using QR-codes.

Why is transportation sector so important for MasterCard?

With developing the cities’ commuting environment, payments in transportation are getting more smart and efficient. MasterCard values the transactions in this sector highly, because it allows us to increase the usage of cards. Globally, the turnover of transportation ticket market is 400 billion dollars a year.