In the past, payment systems meant making a transaction with a physical card by entering a PIN on a POS device. However, with advancing technology, the digitalization process that began with contactless transactions has accelerated with mobile payments.
According to the latest information, MasterCard is hard at work enabling shopping with customer-specific information (by voice).
In Turkey, it developed the Soft POS application so that micro businesses can also accept cards. It was learned that it has started collaborations for innovative applications such as voice shopping and paying via chat.
Thanks to its young population and innovative financial sector, Turkey's technology adoption is ahead of many countries. Consumers in Turkey are rapidly shifting to digital payments in their spending.
In 2019, half of Turkey's 33 million card users made close to 20% of their card spending online. 55% of online spending was made with smartphones, while 65% of travel spending took place online. Insurance, tickets, taxes, telecommunications and marketplaces stand out as the places where the most online shopping is done.
In today's world, as we move toward a cashless life, technology companies and brands such as MasterCard, Visa and Troy use technology as a tool to increase financial inclusion and to offer their customers priceless experiences without compromising security in digital payments.
Mastercard aims to raise payments made with credit cards to the 55% band
In Turkey, 38% of consumer spending was made with credit cards in 2018, and in 2019, 41% of the TRY 2.3 trillion in consumer spending was made with credit cards. Although 63% of consumers have a debit card, it is seen that debit cards are not used enough for shopping.
In developed markets, more than 55% of consumer spending is made with electronic payments. There are 230 million cards in Turkey. If all these cards, debit cards in particular, start to be used for shopping, a cashless society appears achievable.
We spend the most cash at supermarkets and restaurants
Looking at spending at supermarkets and restaurants, cash usage is high there, while card usage is limited to 22%.
7% of contactless transactions in Turkey are for transportation spending.
Today, while 90% of commercial businesses have a POS device, only 28% of small businesses such as taxi drivers, simit sellers, florists, electricians, plumbers and dry cleaners have one. Merchants that download the Mobile POS application to their mobile phones or tablets can turn an Android phone or tablet into a POS device, without any additional equipment, using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology used in contactless payments, and accept card payments.
This way, merchants can sell easily, practically and securely even without a mobile POS device.
Masterpass and the new-generation supermarket “istegelsin” have partnered for voice shopping
Consumer research by Mastercard shows that 62% of consumers view voice shopping favorably. Consumers find voice shopping fast and practical, while their biggest concern is security. Mastercard is eliminating these concerns by using artificial intelligence for security. Mastercard and istegelsin have partnered to offer Turkish consumers a voice shopping solution in the near future.
Once the voice payment solution is rolled out, consumers will do their grocery shopping at istegelsin by voice and complete their payments by voice as well. All they will need to do is open the app and say the products they want. When their order is complete, they will again be able to complete their payment by voice with their Mastercard-branded cards.
As technology advances at a dizzying pace, will we see technologies such as retina and fingerprint scanning in our lives in the coming days?
