The last several years have seen lots of non-payment players invade the payments space. Companies ranging from retailers themselves to technology and hardware companies (Google, Apple, Samsung, etc.) all have staked a claim to their slice of the payments pie. So doesn’t it make sense that an organization like MasterCard, which is already known for payments, offer other retailing and customer-facing functionalities?
That’s precisely what MasterCard is doing, attempting to romance retailers by adding “innovator” and “trusted advisor” to its roles. This might seem quite a shift from the traditionally adversarial nature of retailer-financial institution relationships, but the times they are a-changin’.
