Editorial Viewpoint Staying a Step Ahead of the Revolution Spotlight On iPay Technologies, LLC Spotlight On American Credit Alliance NEWS REPORT New MasterCard RPPS Reports Deliver Focused ... NEWS REPORT MasterCard RPPS's Value-Loading Network Helps... NEWS REPORT Survey Reveals Importance of Online Bill Payment to... NEWS REPORT Customers Value RPPS Update, Survey Says NEWS REPORT Online Biller/Creditor Directory Enhancements... INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Q and A With Aaron McPherson		Editorial Viewpoint - By Cathleen M. Conforti Staying a Step Ahead of the Revolution At MasterCard RPPS, we are keenly mindful of the need to stay a step ahead. In an industry where dazzling technological advances and a widening constituency (now including collection agencies, prepaid card issuers, billers, and more) fuel an everaccelerating evolution, staying a step ahead is not optional. None of us, of course, can predict the future of the electronic payments industry, but we can work to shape the industry's evolution and, with it, our own success. What we do know about the future is very encouraging: the long-awaited mass market adoption of electronic bill payment is definitely at hand. What's more, according to a recent analyst report from Celent,* the future looks a lot like MasterCard RPPS. The report, whose 21 respondents included 20 of the nation's top 50 financial institutions by assets, noted that MasterCard RPPS is the service of choice for those financial institutions that are planning to switch endpoints in the coming months. In fact, of those that had already decided to move, more than half were switching to MasterCard RPPS or shifting a larger share of transaction volume to us. That's because MasterCard RPPS offers highly competitive pricing, a single connection that reaches nearly 100% of industry providers, and dependably insightful industry leadership—all of which help to deliver increased efficiency and greater profitability for our customers. Our industry leadership in particular is an increasingly important factor for our customers, current and prospective. Industry leadership means spotting business trends and delivering solutions that enable our customers to take full advantage of what's ahead. Just as MasterCard RPPS looked ahead in 1993 and brought credit counseling agencies into the electronic payments fold, so today we are preparing new solutions that will bring greater volume and enhanced productivity to current customers and open the door to new ones. B2B payments, value loading for prepaid cards, online payments via credit and debit cards—we see extraordinary potential for expanding electronic volume and participation in these and other areas. Conducting proprietary research, staying on top of industry studies and reports, listening to our customers—we take the initiative to discover what's ahead so you can stay ahead. We've discovered, for example, that consumers see their financial institution's website and online bill payment functionality as a central organizing mechanism for personal financial management. This represents a profound shift in consumer perceptions and behavior, and it's immensely valuable information for savvy marketers of electronic bill payment services. It also demonstrates that MasterCard RPPS and our customers are at the forefront of a revolution in personal financial management, a revolution that is bringing individual personal computers—and the ever-multiplying array of mobile devices— together with bank information systems to make people's financial lives easier and more secure. It's a revolution from a when-I-can world to an on-demand world. Innovative electronic solutions have created this revolution, and they are the only way to stay ahead of it. Staying ahead requires an ongoing reinvention of how we and our customers do business, and MasterCard RPPS has proved equal to the task, helping you shape the future to your needs. It's why tomorrow looks a lot like MasterCard RPPS. * Online Bill Payment: A Survey of Banks, Gwenn Bézard, Celent Communications, April 2004. Printer Friendly Version Back to Top