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Q&A with Global Processing Services’ Brain Trust
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GPS for their European schemes. In addition, we have signed contracts that will see us launch our rst U.S. programs on U.S. soil in 2016.
Paybefore: What’s the most di cult thing about processing payments in the U.S. market?
NW: As a true global processing platform, we have to ensure that we can operate in multiple regions and deal with the regional varia- tions of the transactional con- structs. For example, in the U.S., the adjustment we had to make to the platform was certi cation for single messaging, where the authorization and settlement message is combined. Outside of the U.S., the messaging structure is di erent. We completed this work in 2013 for a separate opportunity, so when we decided to formally enter the U.S., the work already had been done. GPS has been very for- tunate in growing our reputation in the U.S. as we have a great net- work of experienced partners that know the platform and have recommended us.
Paybefore: We’re seeing con- solidation on the program manager side of the business. Are you having to take on that role?
TK: Not exactly. Because our platform has such extensive APIs and Web services with myriad features, we always have been attractive to new program managers that can plug into our platform with ease. Sometimes when program managers see all of the functionality
on our platform, they’re a bit like kids in a candy store. With so much exibility, we have to spend more time explaining usage scenarios, particularly to less experienced program managers.
GPS has an extensive team with many years of experience in pro- cessing, issuing, acquiring and program management. We have supported many new issuers and program managers to launch their rst programs, but we don’t typi- cally take on the program manager role. That being said, our experience in operating one of Europe’s most successful program management businesses—Flex-e-card—prior to launching GPS has been invaluable in helping our clients get to market.
Paybefore: Do you have more existing prepaid players switching over to GPS or clients that are new to prepaid?
NW: We have had many of the larger players in the market move to GPS, and we always take it as a compliment when this happens. Currently 50 percent of our clients are migrating to us from other processors, with the remaining
50 percent being new programs launching internationally.
Paybefore: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the prepaid industry?
TK: The prepaid industry has been constantly evolving, and we now have reached the tipping point where the solutions o ered by the
industry truly appeal to the mass market. Any solution that requires stored value, be it a mobile wallet or a travel currency card, operates with a prepaid solution behind the model. Gone are the days where a prepaid card was seen merely as a gifting option or as an alternative for those that couldn’t access traditional nancial services— although these areas remain relevant today.
Paybefore: How has the growth of mobile payments a ected GPS, your platform and the services you o er? And, where do you see mobile going?
SV: We’ve seen demand for the likes of Apple Pay and HCE (host card emulation), so we’ve made these services easily accessible to program managers. The take-up has been slower than might have been expected. We’re seeing more pro- gram managers waiting to see
what happens in the mobile space. My personal view is that the mo- bile phone will see growth in e-commerce with wearables being the preferred choice for NFC contactless payments. We are working with a number of clients
in the wearables space, but GPS’s strategy has never been to be rst to market. We always have watched the new entrants to learn what works well and what doesn’t, so we can help clients bring the best solutions to market.