Today, Mercury executives held a briefing at Money2020 for more than 100 Mercury partners on “The Future of Mobile Payments.” Both CEO Matt Taylor and John Berkley, senior vice president of product, said making the transition to mobile payments has to be easier for consumers than using plastic cards in order to become ubiquitous.
“We are at an inflection point in the payments industry,” said Mercury CEO Matt Taylor. “Just 10 years ago, most transactions were conducted in cash. Now, we live in a smart device era and Mercury is focused on helping our partners succeed by delivering innovative technology that merchants and consumers will use.”
Mercury research shows that 60 percent of merchants want mobile/tablet payment technologies. This is a disruptive time in the payments industry, and developers need to be supporting mobile payment technologies as they continue to expand.
“Right now, 54 percent of all consumer purchases take place at local independent merchants,” said John Berkley, senior vice president of product, Mercury. “Merchant simplicity is paramount and this is why the Mercury Network is essential. The entire ecosystem needs to be a part of this movement.”
Mercury’s mobile payment approach is based on five areas: 1. Enable simple value-adds to merchants, unify with other merchant services. 2. Leverage POS integration and VAR relationships 3. Be wallet technology agnostic 4. Work with leading mobile wallet providers. (Such as PayPal and Paydiant)
Mercury also announced a new developer portal that is coming soon which will act as a hub of information for the Mercury Network. In development also for 2014 is a next-gen Mercury Gift program that will leverage native capabilities and offer a reloadable rewards program and mobile prepaid capabilities.
