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MasterCard is good to go on all payment options [Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)](Gulf News (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dubai: Fancy meeting Justin Timberlake up close and personal at one of his concerts? Backstage passes could be yours for the taking, but just make sure you make a transaction on a MasterCard-branded payments solution. (There has also been an instance when Justin has turned up at a lucky individual's home on a "priceless surprise" visit.) The global payments solutions company has a plan going, that of creating "priceless moments" for its legions of consumers. The priceless facet can just as equally apply to a user's travel experiences or to a round of golf with a legend of the game. (In fact, the "priceless" motif has been a signature element of MasterCard campaigns for well over a decade, but it has been constantly refreshed to be closely in sync with the times and changing consumer preferences.) "The idea is for MasterCard to be right there among the most loved companies or brands in the world, along side the likes of a Nike, etc," said Raja Rajamannar, the New York-based Chief Marketing Officer. "And we believe we are getting there creating a series of truly priceless moments. We have made gains in the way our audience reacts to the brand and drawing them in closer to the payments experiences we offer across the board." ‘Peer-to-peer' mobile payments For Rajamannar, MasterCard's audience should not be limited by demographic. The company is as interested in the possibilities ‘peer-to-peer' mobile payments can throw up with an 18-year old user in the future as it is on maintaining its exposure to those older consumers who have been using its credit or debit card solutions for years now. (Peer-to-peer mobile payments apps like Venmo have been seeing a lot of activity in the US, where, among other things, the young find it particularly useful to split cheques at restaurants.) "Where digital payment solutions are concerned, it's true that a lot of new entrants have emerged coming up with some extremely smart ways of getting things done," said Rajamannar. "But that's not the same as saying that MasterCard's focus will be wholly committed to traditional solutions — that's not true. We already have solutions specifically addressing digital payments, and where we can there are partnerships to speed up what we can bring to the market. "As for peer-to-peer payments, we will definitely be getting into that space." (c) 2014 Al Nisr Publishing LLC . All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |