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Video: Should payments providers adopt a single mobile platform?

Some fintech pundits believe that mobile payments players must adopt a single, universal platform as a solid push-start toward global ubiquity. On the other side are industry-watchers who believe that uniformity is the hobgoblin of stunted innovation.

illustration: istock

January 23, 2018 by Suzanne Cluckey — Owner, Suzanne Cluckey Communications

Some fintech pundits believe that mobile payments players must adopt a single, universal platform as a solid push-start toward ubiquitous global adoption.

They argue that the current mobile payments landscape is a free-for-all, and that with so many different technologies to choose among, merchants and consumers alike throw up their hand in frustration and revert to the familiarity of plastic cards and cash.

On the other side are industry-watchers who believe that uniformity is the hobgoblin of stunted innovation.

They insist that startups should have the freedom to engineer their own breakthrough solutions that address the needs of the consumer market. In the end, they say, the best platform will win out (though it doesn't, always. Remember Betamax?)

Which side is right and which is wrong — or is the answer somewhere in the middle?

At the 2017 Bank Customer Experience Summit in Chicago, payments experts from all sides weighed in with their insights and opinions in a roundtable-style Great Debate. Audience members brought up some great points, too, in an open Q&A.

Participants were:

• Cherian Abraham — Senior Business Consultant, Experian
• Joshua Gordon-Blake — Vice President and Head of Global Partnerships, Pangea
• Quam Erogbogbo — Senior Director and Head of Software Services, Samsung Electronics America
• Mohammad Khan — President and Cofounder, Omnyway
• Ashish Tajpuria — Emerging Payments and Commerce Partnerships, Bank of America

Will Hernandez, editor of Mobile Payments Today, a sister publication to ATM Marketplace, moderated the debate, titled Should payments providers adopt a single mobile platform?

Wherever you stand on the question, you'll find the full-length presentation below thought-provoking — maybe even mind-changing.

Learn more about the summit and preview the just-published 2018 agenda (including this year's very timely Great Debate topic) at BankCustomerExperience.com.

The Great Debate: Should payments providers adopt a single mobile platform? from Networld Media Group Summits on Vimeo.

About Suzanne Cluckey

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Suzanne’s editorial career has spanned three decades and encompassed all B2B and B2C communications formats. Her award-winning work has appeared in trade and consumer media in the United States and internationally.