Skift Global Forum: MasterCard CMO on Future of Experiential Travel
Skift Take
The local and experiential trend in travel -- you know, the kind of trips that millennials are said to be in love with -- has gotten to the point that MasterCard and others are curating and offering these escapes for their customers. It is a natural fit as travelers knock off cities on their bucket lists, using their credit and debit cards.
In the little more than a year that MasterCard global chief marketing officer Raja Rajamannar has been in his position, the credit card industry has faced its challenges among the public given data breaches at Home Depot, Target, and in the travel industry, Viator.
While responsibility for these hacks resides mostly with the retailers, consumers are concerned about credit card security, and Rajamannar details steps that MasterCard and the industry are taking to combat the threat.
"Our belief at MasterCard is that in the not so distant future we should all be able to identify ourselves without having to use passwords or PIN numbers," Rajamannar says, citing one of the security trends.
At the same time, MasterCard is continuing to develop its mobile payment solutions, and is getting in on local and experiential trends in travel by offering special activities in tourism destinations.
Disclaimer: MasterCard is a sponsor of Skift Global Forum.
Raja Rajamannar will discuss these issues and others, including the future of seamless and cashless travel, at the Skift Global Forum in Manhattan October 9. Skift discussed these trends with Rajamannar, and an edited version of the interview follows:
Skift: Is cash dead for travelers and travel transactions, and why or why not?
Raja Rajamannar, Global CMO of MasterCard: I think cash is declining rapidly for travelers, and there are many reasons why, but here are just a few: First, ther
