Financial Services Providers Expand Payment Options

# Financial Services Providers Expand Payment Options

Both Visa and MasterCard are focused on giving consumers the opportunity to pay in any way and any location they choose. The release of Internet of Things and mobile-enabled payment solutions by the two financial services providers will make it possible for consumers to shop from more locations while using a broader array of touchpoints and enjoying greater peace of mind.

MasterCard has announced a partnership with WISeKey, an Internet security company. The new partnership will make it possible for consumers to use contactless payments on select wearables, including watches. MasterCard believes the partnership will give consumers a safer and more convenient shopping experience.

In addition, the financial services company is planning to launch a tokenization and digitization solution that can be used by e-commerce retailers. MasterCard Digital Enablement for Merchants will utilize a token that can be used in conjunction with a specific cryptogram, providing increased security for transactions involving cards on file.

The new technology will give shoppers the opportunity to benefit from a checkout without the need to enter or even update payment information for every transaction, regardless of where they may be shopping or even the device they may be using.

Visa is also working on expanding its integrated secure payments program. Visa Ready will now include IoT companies, including automobile and wearable manufacturers. Program partners will receive access to resources and tools, along with Visa's Digital Enablement Program. The program provides streamlined access to security technology, making digital and mobile payments more secure from any location, as there is no Internet connection required.

Among the first companies to partner with the program are Coin, Accenture, Samsung, and Fit Pay. Those companies will work with both Pebble and Chronos to install secure payments in devices. Once the technology is embedded, the devices can then be certified as Visa Ready.

According to the company, an increasing number of consumers are relying on connected devices and smart appliances, benefitting from the convenience those devices provide. With the addition of payments to such devices, it becomes possible to convert practically any online connection into a retail experience while ensuring payments are as seamless and secure as possible.

Supermarket operators would also do well to recognize that an increasing number of consumers are no longer using only plastic debit and credit cards to make purchases inside brick-and-mortar establishments. Consumers now wish to make purchases in whatever location and using whichever device offers the most convenience.

Take advantage of the opportunity to advise consumers that such options are available right at checkout where the topic will be "top of mind". Knowing such areas are typically tight and packed with impulse items, display these alternate payment and shopping option ideas with "little adhesive card and sign holders" that can be virtually attached anywhere, allowing supermarket operators to tap into a growing trend.