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digital money
Commerce without Boundaries
he says. “It’s not just the payments piece that was integrated and boundary-less, it was the entire experience of nding out about the promotion on social media, buying the promotion in the virtual store and redeeming the promotion in-store.”
Omnichannel is a huge growth opportunity for retailers, McCarthy believes. “Businesses and mer- chants that are able to engage consumers across channels will have the fastest growth trajectory. It’s not an aberration. This is the new way consumers want to con- duct commerce.” And although more consumers may be inclined to shop online than ever before (see sidebar on page 31), they’re still grateful to have the physical stores for returns, immediate purchases, to try things on or browse through the merchandise, he adds.
Investors on Board
In late 2015, First Data raised
$2.8 billion in a record-breaking initial public o ering (see page 52). While much of the reporting on
the IPO focused on First Data using its new capital to pay down debt, McCarthy says there’s an important backstory. “It’s not just about the company going public,” he says. “In July 2014, we com- pleted what we believe is the largest private equity placement
in recent memory.” New investors poured $3.5 billion into the com- pany. Add that to the IPO fund- raising and you’ve got investors putting more than $6 billion
into First Data in 14 months.
“That shows extraordinary investor con dence not only in First Data today but in our growth opportun- ities,” McCarthy adds.
In addition to paying down debt, First Data is using the capital infusion to accelerate investments in security, expanding its m-POS solution Clover, the STAR Network and acquisitions in gift card tech- nology, including Gyft and Transac- tion Wireless. “We’re creating a more compelling proposition for small and midsize enterprises and bringing innovative solutions to market to help them grow their businesses,” he notes.
FirsT daTa aT a glance
mobile card readers like First Data’s Clover POS product suite is pushing forward exponentially, with its EMV and NFC functionality—the company is keeping its eye and strategy focused on facilitating connected commerce experiences.
High Bar
Underlying all of these seamless experiences are two key demands from consumers and regulators— security and compliance. “I don’t think innovation and security are mutually exclusive,” McCarthy says. “You can’t have one without the other. Innovation without security isn’t worth anything. Security that encumbers the consumer experience and doesn’t enable innovation isn’t worth anything either. We understand the connection between innova- tion and security. That’s why
we organized the Network and Security Solutions as one team.” Under McCarthy’s leadership, this division includes all of the rm’s high-growth business lines, including network, debit, prepaid, ACH, fraud, security, secure digital distribution, online and mobile banking, and govern- ment solutions.
“Creating innovative solutions while maintaining the highest compliance and security stand- ards, that’s where the magic happens. In Q4 2015, NSS was
the second-largest, fastest-growing and highest-margin business
at First Data,” he notes. “Clearly the NSS business is producing some magic.”
With 23,000 owner-associates and operations in 36 countries, the company provides payment technology and services to more than 6 million merchants and 4,000 nancial institutions worldwide. In 2015, the company completed $1.7 trillion
in consumer transactions in 118 countries.
The move to omnichannel com- merce is universal across 118 countries in which First Data operates, McCarthy continues. While the initial focus in developing markets may be to enable elec- tronic payments—something
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