Mastercard: New technologies encourage new conversations about digital payments

PRESS RELEASE from Mastercard (Please note that this is a machine translation)

February 26, 2019

• The sixth study on MasterCard Digital Payments highlights the trends of social networks around the increase in purchasing power available in the palm of the hand .
• In Latin America and the Caribbean, conversations about mobile payments more than doubled last year; mobile and contactless wallets accounted for 43% .

Mexico City, February 26, 2019 - Do you want to buy something quick and leave? You are not the only one. Today more than ever, people live a life increasingly digital and mobile, and expect to be able to pay for their needs and desires with that same "always on" mentality, according to conversations on the social networks analyzed for the 2019 edition of the Study on MasterCard Digital Payments.

Mobile payments accounted for more than 27% of the total conversations in social networks around payments, with an increase in mentions of 20% over the previous year. Mentions of mobile wallets specifically more than doubled since 2017. The figures for the Latin American and Caribbean region are even higher, with an increase in mobile payment conversations of 123% compared to 2017. These figures confirm the favorable momentum in the region already identified last year by the Digital Evolution Index in its edition of Latin America and the Caribbean (DEI LAC), created by The Fletcher School of Tufts University and Mastercard. This study, developed in collaboration with PRIME Research and already in its sixth edition, analyzed more than 3.3 million conversations last year on several social media channels, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Weibo.

"On-demand access is not only an expectation of the cable and content provider, it is also a reality that shows how people say they want to buy and pay every day," said Rose Beaumont, Senior Vice President of European Communication and Enabling MasterCard Sales. "In this year's study, you can see how fast, convenient and secure forms of payment are being adopted in all markets, and the study indicates continued interest and demand over the next few years."

Inter and s by new technolog ies

People are looking for new technologies that impact their lives. Only in the last year, said mentions in social networks increased by 30% since the last study. Today, almost 20% of all mobile commerce payments are focused on contactless payments and mobile wallets. Beyond these main areas of focus, consumers are interested in how artificial intelligence, QR payments and portable payments will impact their lives.

In general, people have an increasingly positive attitude towards these new technologies. Virtually all conversations about mobile wallets (95%) were favorable, with 30% of the messages praising the speed, efficiency and simplicity of the most current products.

The adoption of mobile payments is also observed in the markets of Asia and Africa. India was the most dominant market (30%) when analyzing the use and potential of mobile wallets, particularly in relation to public transit and the use of QR-based payments, led by specific references to MasterpassQR and PaytmQR in India . The United States occupied a distant second place in consumer discussions on the issue of mobile wallets (10%).

Prepared for the action with tranquility

Among the conversations analyzed, consumers clearly continued to focus on the security of their money and personal data as a fundamental requirement. In their publications, people recognize the value of new technologies to provide this peace of mind through mobile payments.

Í looking at new technologies as:

• Biometrics reached a potential of 111 million, driven primarily by an interest in voice payments and fingerprint scanners.
• Tokenization, and its critical role in supporting and protecting payments of all kinds, was presented in conversations that reached a potential audience of 11 million people.

While breaking news about data breaches drove a fifth of the conversations related to personal information, another 13% of these conversations pointed to the potential of digital security technologies, including blockchain or blockchain, tokenization and biometrics.

Am é conversations about America and the Caribbean in figures:

• Talks about mobile payments in 2018 increased more than double that in 2017 (+ 123%) (1000 in 2017 to 1600 in 2018).
• Mentions of mobile wallet in 2018 increased significantly from 2017 (+ 924%).
• Mentions of new technologies increased + 47% from 2017.
• The new technology talks reached a potential audience of 8 million in 2018.
• Mobile wallets and contactless payments accounted for 43% of conversations about mobile commerce during 2018.
• Mentions of data privacy in 2018 increased 60% more than in 2017.
• The conversations about biometrics reached a potential audience of 245,000 in 2018.
• Talks on tokenization reached a potential audience of 4.4 million in 2018.

About Mastercard at the Mobile World Congress

Mastercard will have a stand located at Hall5 Stand5 D61 at MWC Barcelona. This will have the presence of important executives available for interviews with the press. For more information, click here for images, press releases and information, or visit @MastercardLAC from February 25-28, 2019.

About the VI Study on Digital Payments of Mastercard

Mastercard, in partnership with PRIME Research, conducted its VI Digital Payments Study, designed to identify the increase in conversations about new forms of payment. More than 3.3 million public publications were analyzed in social networks during a 12-month period (from January 1 to December 31, 2018). These publications were made on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Forums, Google+, YouTube, Vkontakte and Weibo in almost 190 markets around the world. The resulting report reflects perceptions of new product trends and categories of mobile payments in all regions and countries.

About DEI LAC, limited edition p or n for Latin Am é Rica and Caribbean Digital Evolution Index

DEI LAC is an evaluation based on digital development data in the 24 largest countries of LAC. It is an analysis of the underlying drivers that govern the digitalization of a country: supply conditions, demand conditions, institutional environment, and innovation and change. The combination of a total of 99 indicators in these four drivers provides information on the current state of digitization and its change over time (digitization rate) in each country.

About Mastercard

MasterCard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com , is a technology company within the global payments industry. We operate the world's fastest payment processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard products and solutions enable day-to-day business activities - such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances - to be easier, safer and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews , participate in the discussions on our Beyond the Transaction blog, and subscribe to receive the latest news on our Engagement Bureau .