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companies & people
Industry Views: Let’s Get Physical
Why do plastic cards matter in a mobile world?
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For the same reason cash
still matters: People use it, it’s accepted anywhere and it’s often more convenient, espe- cially for small transactions. Plastic is definitely still more ubiquitous and convenient than mobile apps. Besides, there’s not really anything mobile about the wallets and payment apps on your phone. They use NFC technology, not mobile technol-
ogy to transact a payment. Therefore, why does mobile even matter when you could just use your Fitbit, watch or other wearable instead of pulling out your phone?
The fact is there’s nothing inconvenient about plastic and until there is ubiquitous acceptance for other form factors, it will remain quite relevant. Just like cash and checks, the ratio of plastic transactions relative to other forms may diminish over time but won’t go away for many years to come.
—Brad Hanson,
president of MetaBank and Meta Payment Systems
Security continues to be the main reason for resistance to mobile payments. This is primarily because many consumers fail to see the multiple benefits that mobile
payments bring, such as ease, access and convenience.
This resistance to change
has resulted in continued heavy use of credit and debit cards.
However, merchants across the country are adding mobile payments at the POS but
until acceptance is ubiqui- tous, plastic will continue
to be necessary.
—Joan M. Herman,
Acceptance. While the latest mobile and contact- less technologies are exciting for some Gen Xers and those of us in the industry, cardholders
continue to rely on the
ability to make a purchase
at their local hardware store or to withdraw cash at their local bank’s ATM. Our custom- ers enjoy prepaid because
of their confidence in the product and the simplicity
of its use. Part of that con- fidence factor is dependent on reliable acceptance, re- gardless of the type of mer-
chant. Ironically, cardholder adoption of mobile and contactless payments may well be dependent on the continued peace of mind associated with the plastic in their wallet.
—Trent Sorbe,
president, central payments division, Central Bank of Kansas City
There’s no doubt that mobile payments are ex- periencing exponential growth; however, I do
not believe mobile pay- ments and plastic cards
are mutually exclusive. I see the mobile wallet and the plastic card working har- moniously, with consumers utilizing both for different transactions. It’s also worth considering that as with any new technology, it will take time to educate consumers on the use and applications
of mobile payments. I don’t envisage there being a complete eradication of plastic cards anytime in the near future.
—Daniel Spier,
senior vice president, Sunrise Banks
managing director, IDT Financial Services Ltd.