Our President, Brian Lang, wrote this blog post for our employees and stakeholders when he arrived at the MasterCard Canada offices. Check out his vision for a cashless Canada below.
In the last ten years my career in payments has led me to five global cities in countries at various stages of development. I’ve worked in the wealthiest and most connected countries as well as the most impoverished and financially detached ones. While my experiences were worlds apart, each country shared a similar drive to innovate.
No matter where you live, innovation is about making the day-to-day lives of people better, easier. I saw this first hand in Nigeria where payment innovations are making it possible for 13 million Nigerians to have an electronic identity card. That’s profound when you think about what it enables for an individual – a sense of belonging, inclusion in the financial system, travel between borders, and access to government services. For an economy, it means the creation of a cashless society that can erase corruption and crime while strengthening economic growth, investments and trade. In Egypt, MasterCard serves as the connection between banks, telecommunications companies and local networks, enabling commerce and transfer of payments. The electronic bill payment service Fawry uses MasterCard to enable Egyptian consumers and business people to have greater safety and security in payments where credit card acceptance is not widespread.
That spirit of innovation doesn’t change with my move to back home to Canada as President of MasterCard Canada. I’m excited to lead our operations in a country that is an innovator’s dream – built on the sparks of big ideas, the aspirations of entrepreneurs, and the productivity of its people. Canada is home to tech savvy early adopters who take pride in being adaptable to the latest technology.
Today in Canada millions of face-to-face transactions are tap and go using secure NFC technology embedded in all MasterCard cards. We’ve created new security measures to ensure that 100% of MasterCard credit cards issued are CHIP & PIN enabled, as well as contactless. Fraud rates continue to decline and consumers benefit from the safe, secure, convenience of electronic payments.
The benefits of electronic payments are significant, so I was quite surprised to read a recent study on cash use by the Bank of Canada. According to the study, while card usage has increased thanks to safety and convenience, many Canadians still cling to the old notion that polymer and plastic cash is safe in a wallet or cash register. There is nothing safe or desirable about cash. Aside from the obvious challenges like crime, cash is also an obstacle to building a prosperous future. Countries like Finland and Sweden recognize the limitations of cash and are moving toward totally cashless economies. These countries’ smarter cities lead the way with seamless transit and travel, next-generation retailers and merchants, cutting-edge health care and electronified government services. In my opinion, there is no reason Canada can’t be included with the Scandinavian countries. There is a huge opportunity for Canada to be a global leader in the electronification of commerce.
The innovation we create at MasterCard is much more than just faster and safer payments. It’s really about enabling others – businesses big and small, governments and individuals – to create the next big idea. And it’s about being a positive voice in the industry to bring together all the participants – banks, telecom companies, government and retail groups. From the food truck accepting mobile payments on-the-go to the big business managing e-commerce through an omni-channel approach, our work as a payments innovator is to connect buyers and sellers and give all citizens the option to be included in a cashless economy.
I’m focused on furthering Canada’s journey to cashless and I look forward to keeping you updated on our success.
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