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0 pointslondons_explore6y ago0 comments

They are also miles behind on features customers want...

For example:

* My credit card statement should have links to the merchant, the address, a list of the things I bought, a link to the returns process, etc.

* Why can't my statement also have the total number of calories I've purchased in the last month, or grams of carbon in fuel I've put in the truck?

* Why can't I use my mastercard to pay another mastercard user directly?

* Why hasn't mastercard produced a '2 factor' for card payments rather than forcing every bank to implement their own?

* Why can't I buy a dual Mastercard/Visa/Other card, which works with merchants who are picky and will only accept one or the other?

* Why are we still issuing bits of plastic in the digital age anyway?

* Why don't the cards have a microusb plug on one edge, or NFC to plug into a phone or computer to log in, to act as an identity card, to authenticate or make payments, or anything else other companies issue smartcards for?

* Why don't mastercard work with mobile providers to issue cards that you can spend your pay-as-you-go balance with, turning a mobile provider into a bank.

It seems mastercards business is 'stuck', and there are opportunities to innovate all around them, but they won't.

0 comments

marbletiles6y ago

Half of what you "want" is a quasi-dystopian nightmare.

arkades6y ago

Don’t be such a pessimist. There’s nothing “quasi” about it.

D-Coder6y ago

If this is what he wants for himself, it's not dystopian, it's personal info.

zelon886y ago

Why would you want Target telling Mastercard that you bought Spongebob underwear and 1,968 calories worth of freeze pops?

xyzzy_plugh6y ago

Why do you believe this isn't already the case?

kortilla6y ago

>Why are we still issuing bits of plastic in the digital age anyway?

Phones die.

If you don’t care, I suggest you look into Apple Pay or something similar. You’ll find many merchants that you won’t be able to pay.

tluyben26y ago

In the west, but in China you pay everything with wechat or alipay and similar solutions are popping up in Asia in every country with success. But in China it is accepted everywhere. And when it is not it still is because usually the shop cashiers will use their own phone to complete the transaction.

matthewmacleod6y ago

Maybe in the US; here in the UK, contactless payment is now close to universal for any vendor who accepts cards. This suggests it’s eminently possible.

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