Joe Randazza, CEO of the National Payment Card Association, thinks some people are missing the point in the conversation about mobile payments.

Yes, the technology is cool. In testimony before the U.S. Senate, expert Thomas Brown attributed much of the genuine excitement about new mobile payment technology to the notion that “the mash-up of mobile with payments will bring a bit of magic to the point of sale.”

“Waving a phone just seems cooler than swiping a plastic card,” he wrote.

Of course, Brown’s assessment isn’t wrong. But “cool” won’t spark ignition “” a point with which Brown would certainly agree. Instead, Randazza argues that the power to solve the chicken-and-egg problem faced by mobile payments lies with merchants. They want lower interchange costs, he says, and have the ultimate incentive to seek out the solution that delivers cost savings.

Randazza joins PYMNTS.com to tell what he calls “the untold story” of mobile payment adoption by merchants big and small. He also explains the concept of decoupled debit transactions, and talks about what merchants should expect from the NPCA in the near future.

Joe Randazza, CEO of the National Payment Card Association, thinks some people are missing the point in the conversation about mobile payments.

Yes, the technology is cool. In testimony before the U.S. Senate, expert Thomas Brown attributed much of the genuine excitement about new mobile payment technology to the notion that “the mash-up of mobile with payments will bring a bit of magic to the point of sale.”

“Waving a phone just seems cooler than swiping a plastic card,” he wrote.

Of course, Brown’s assessment isn’t wrong. But “cool” won’t spark ignition — a point with which Brown would certainly agree. Instead, Randazza argues that the power to solve the chicken-and-egg problem faced by mobile payments lies with merchants. They want lower interchange costs, he says, and have the ultimate incentive to seek out the solution that delivers cost savings.

Randazza joins PYMNTS.com to tell what he calls “the untold story” of mobile payment adoption by merchants big and small. He also explains the concept of decoupled debit transactions, and talks about what merchants should expect from the NPCA in the near future.

Listen to the full interview with NPCA CEO Joe Randazza below.

Joe R. “JR” Randazza is the founder and CEO of the National Payment Card Association. For the last 31 years, Mr. Randazza, 57, has been a serial entrepreneur engaging in several new business strategies based on identifying emerging market opportunities or replacement technologies.

National Payment Card Association

National Payment Card Association is recognized as the leading provider of Merchant Branded ACH Decoupled Debit Cards.

National Payment Card Association has been serving the payment needs of merchants since 2004. We began our services in the C-store Petroleum sector but have expanded into other merchant segments such as grocery or pharmacy.

Our cards are PIN-based only and cannot be used to pay for purchases where a signature is used for verification, making them the most secure form of payment at the point of sale.

We are a privately held company managed by seasoned payments professionals with deep expertise in payment systems. We have been issued several patents that demonstrate our innovation related to merchant branded debit cards.