The confirmation that the fintech segment is not a passing fad, but an industry with unlimited expansion potential, came Monday from the hand of Apple, which caused a real earthquake with the launch of its Apple Card.
A surprise in the fintech world
It was not a movement in the famous San Andreas fault that crosses the California coast, but a cimbronazo that took by surprise the world of banks and finance: the largest company in the world, the paradigm of what is the industry technology, he made his big bet in the payments segment.
It is clear that the final goal is to dominate the space of digital payments. The company confirmed that it is on track to exceed 10 billion transactions through Pay this year and highlighted 70% of merchants in the United States already accept the platform.
In this context, the launch of your card is of vital importance, since it will allow you to expand to countless businesses and establishments around the world that today do not accept payments by smartphone.
Really easy for users
Regarding “plastic”, which will actually be made of titanium, users must register in the Wallet app, an action that takes just a few minutes. Thus, they can track their purchases, balances and maturities, directly from the cell phone.
A very particular detail of the product is that it does not have a number, CVV, expiration date or user signature. All that information is stored directly in the application.
An important advantage cited by Apple in its presentation was the new rewards program called Daily Cash: if Apple Pay is used in any location, the company returns 2% of the purchase; if it is purchased directly from Apple, it will be 3%.
The physical card, meanwhile, will have a refund of 1% when used in stores
This refund is made in money and not in points or coupons; therefore, it can be used for other transactions or to be sent to other users. The company also promised that Card will not have associated costs, commissions, or international rates, and advanced “the lowest interest rates.”
On the other hand, like many of the company’s products, privacy is a key item
“Apple does not know what you bought, where you bought it and how much you paid for it”, said Jennifer Bailey, vice president of the Pay division. This information will remain on the phone and, they promised, will not reach their servers.
To carry forward the size of the project, Apple had to go out looking for companies that would allow it to sustain the product. Therefore, he added two weighty allies that will help consolidate the proposal: Goldman Sach and Mastercard.
A new era of payments
The latter adds another important partner in its battle with Visa for the control of the fintech segment in its credit leg. The signing of the two circles is determined to lead this new era of payments and has taken concrete steps to achieve it.
While globally bid to stay with different startups that promise great profits in the future, Visa and Mastercard play a separate game for the digital transformation of their businesses in Argentina.
In effect, the brand of the two circles has already surpassed the score and promises to lead the advance of new forms of payment.
Mastercard opened the score last year, when it launched the contactless cards, a chip-surpassing technology and magnetic stripe based on the following pillars:
- The customer supports the card on the reader to pay, without having to deliver it to a third party.
- The plastic has a chip with encrypted data that allows not to “clone” the card.
- The operation does not require the presentation of the DNI. Neither the issuance of the coupon nor the signature of the client in operations of up to $ 1,000.
- The cards can be “virtualized” in an electronic wallet, allowing to pay when placing the cell phone over the terminal.
Within the Argentine banking, they give account of the local “backwardness” of the most used brand in the world.
The truth is that Mastercard’s digital plan is underway for a while and the replacement of plastics is only a small part.