Mastercard Targets European Banks With New Research Platform

Mastercard

Mastercard is rolling out a new “business intelligence” platform that will provide research and analysis on the payments sector in Europe.

Mastercard on Wednesday (Aug. 5) announced it is launching a new online platform called Market Trends, aimed at banks and financial institutions across Europe.

The platform will have a research focus, with information on more than “2,000 cards across 34 market,” analysis of the top 22 players in FinTech, as well as “thought leadership” pieces on “Open Banking, Blockchain and other trends,” the credit card giant said in a press release.

The aim, according to Mastercard, is to help executives and other decision makers in banking and financial services sort through the bevy of cutting-edge trends that are transforming the payments sector to find the technology that best fits the interests of their customers.

The platform is currently available to card issuers in Europe, with plans to roll out beyond the continent soon, according to Mastercard.

“Mastercard Market Trends delivers a single point of access to the key information banks need to inform smarter decisions with better outcomes,” said Mark Barnett, president of Mastercard Europe, in the release. “With insight into the most cutting-edge trends and consumer needs, they can identify and deploy the technology and initiatives that will super serve their customers and adapt to the constant evolution in how people shop and pay.”

The Mastercard Market Trends platform will include a mix of macro and micro economic data, from reports on 34 different EU markets focusing on “socio-economic, payment and digital KPI data,” to a “card comparison” filter that enable users zero in on features of various cards  and how they fit into the “current European competitive landscape.”

The platform also features analysts of the top global FinTechs, with use cases and company profiles, with an emphasis on “best practices to help inform strategies in a constantly evolving payments landscape,” Mastercard said.