First Data is a global technology and payments processing company, serving financial institutions, small and large businesses as well as government agencies. The company has focused its innovation efforts in the areas of prepaid, eCommerce and mobile payments solution. Recently it released a White Paper titled “Universal Commerce: A Seamless, Personalized Purchase Experience for Today’s Connected Consumers”, which looks at the blurring of boundaries between today’s different shopping channels.
We spoke to Dom Morea, SVP, Advanced Solutions and Innovation at First Data and discussed the evolution of shopping behavior and its effects on payments. He argued that we are in a transformational period when it comes to shopping and payment attitudes. The way we think about shopping is really changing and it’s becoming a multichannel experience. “Whereas in the old days where as shoppers we might have gone down to the physical shops with our to-do list…or gone online to a website and pick from one or two products, we see the shopping journey really changing” Dom commented. Our shopping journey now “might start at a social network or it might start on a connected device at home and then move to a tablet or a smartphone on the way to a store and then carry that shopping experience into the store where you may choose to check out there or…later from any of those connected devices” – the universal shopping experience.
Retailers have to adapt to this new way of shopping and according to Dom a lot of them already have. Many retailers have taken on the notion of “showrooming” and really try to provide a multichannel approach. What retailers need to focus on is on “how to stay connected to their consumer” as they move between physical and virtual channels, Dom added. The payment experience needs to adapt to new shopping behavior too and retailers need to make sure they are providing a swift check out method, Dom highlighted.
When it comes to the future of payments in Europe Dom argued there is “great opportunity for European retailers to take a leading position” – due to the continent’s high smartphone penetration and the number of partnerships multiplying in the last few months. But what is key to new payment adoption, according to Dom, is how new payment methods are presented to consumers so they see it as easy and convenient to use.
To hear Dom talk about the future of payments, the universal shopping experience and more, listen to the podcast below.
Dom Morea is SVP, Advanced Solutions and Innovation at First Data Corporation where he is responsible for leading the company’s efforts in transformational initiatives such as Mobile Commerce and Personalized Marketing. He is a 20-year, plus veteran of the financial services industry. He has been with First Data since 2004; when he rejoined the company as SVP, Product and Business Development to lead product management for the company’s merchant acquiring division.
Before joining First Data, Morea was SVP of Strategy & Business Development at Encorus, a mobile payments company with operations in the U.S. and Europe. Prior to that, he spent six years with First Data. Morea has also previously held management positions at Credit Suisse and Citibank. He serves on the boards of several, influential organizations such as: Smart Card Alliance, ViVOtech and PNC Merchant Services and has been a featured speaker at a number of payments and mobile industry forums such as: CTIA, NACHA, Card Forum and the DRF. Dom Morea is a Cum Laude graduate of Hofstra University and lives in Atlanta.
