The Credit Card Is The New App Platform

Credit and debit cards are ubiquitous, but they’re mostly pretty dumb. That’s about to change.

Online commerce is now a $200 billion industry, but it’s still small compared to offline transactions. Up to 70% of consumer spending is influenced by Web and mobile research, but over 90% of actual transactions are still conducted in the physical world. Retail marketers know they can advertise more efficiently if they can actually track and close the redemption loop from online browsing to offline buying. Major consumer internet and financial services companies are also highly motivated, as they see a path to greater advertising and promotion-based revenue if they can demonstrate more marketing value through closing the loop.

So what will be the impact of this emerging app platform on the card carrying public?

Read the full article