Malcolm Williamson, president and CEO of Visa International, urged banks to seize upon multi-function smart cards as a means to build closer customer relationships during his keynote address at the Credit Card Forum in Orlando, Fla.
In his speech entitled "Banking and Payment Cards in the New Millennium," Williamson said, "We have a window of opportunity -- but it is closing."
Citing a new cost/benefit assessment of smart cards undertaken by Visa International, Williamson said that by the end of next year, less than 1 in 16 smart cards will be issued by banks. Waiting even a couple of years to embrace the potential of multi-function smart card technology "could be waiting a couple of years too long," he said.
Drawing on the same research, Williamson said that the investment in infrastructure to shift from magnetic stripe cards to multi-function smart cards over the next decade would equal just 1.3 percent over and above what member banks would already be spending on the normal operation of their card programs. "The sooner banks make a prudent investment to create the next-generation system of payments, the sooner we stake our place ahead of the curve in the financial services marketplace."
In light of the same forces of change affecting banks, the payment card associations must also adapt. "We must be prepared to re-examine the status quo when it comes to costs, who pays for new technologies, and how member services are provided and paid for," Williamson said.
He challenged banks and the payment associations to not so much react to the future as to re-invent it. "Now is the time to envision a world where nothing stands between people and their ability to use their full range of financial resources -- when, where, and how they want. And it is time to turn that vision into reality."
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