Friday, August 9, 2024
Mastercard reported that its growth in the second quarter 2024 was notably driven by the rising adoption of contactless payments, which now account for approximately 69 percent of all in-person transactions. This shift has significantly contributed to a 6 percent increase in gross dollar volume (GDV) in the United States, supported by 6 percent credit growth and 7 percent debit growth.
The expansion of contactless payments also played a crucial role in the 11 percent year-over-year growth in switched transactions globally. Mastercard noted that its global presence continues to strengthen, with 3.4 billion Mastercard and Maestro-branded cards issued. Additionally, cross-border volumes rose by 17 percent, highlighting robust growth in both travel-related and non-travel cross-border spending.
These trends, the company stated, underscore the growing preference for contactless payments, which are becoming an integral part of everyday transactions, driving Mastercard's continued success in the payment industry.
Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform, unveiled Adaptive Pricing, a new feature designed to help businesses present prices in their customers' preferred local currencies. Available to Stripe users worldwide through checkout or payment links, Adaptive Pricing can be activated with just one click in the Stripe dashboard. This feature supports merchants in over 50 countries, allowing them to offer local currency pricing to buyers in more than 150 countries, the company stated.
Abhinav Tiwari, Stripe's product lead for its optimized checkout suite, highlighted the impact of this innovation, noting, "Online shoppers are increasingly making international purchases, and businesses using Adaptive Pricing have seen an average 17.8 percent increase in cross-border revenue."
Stripe's research shows that 90 percent of customers prefer to check out in their local currency, as it enables local payment methods such as Alipay, iDEAL, and WeChat Pay. Adaptive Pricing automatically facilitates these options, enhancing the checkout experience for global customers, Stripe added.
Checkout.com, digital payments provider, stated is became the first payment service provider (PSP) to partner with Google Pay in offering a biometric-based secure payment authentication service. This collaboration aims to enhance merchants' digital payment performance by simplifying and accelerating the customer authentication process.
Traditionally, customers authenticate payments using one-time passcodes and are often redirected through multiple pages, leading to a less seamless experience. With this new service, Checkout.com integrates Google Pay's biometric authentication, which uses device-based methods such as PIN, password and facial recognition. This advancement significantly speeds up the checkout process, boosts acceptance rates and drives higher conversion rates for merchants, Stripe noted.
eSky, a travel platform in Central and Eastern Europe and early adopter of this new technology, reported a 14-second reduction in checkout time, along with a 5 percentage point increase in authentication rates and a 3 percentage point rise in authorization success rates compared to the traditional 3DS method. Grzegorz KwiecieĊ, head of payments & fraud prevention at eSky Group, emphasized the importance of this innovation in the travel industry, where faster transactions allow customers to secure airline tickets at the best prices.
Checkout.com said it also offers AI-based dynamic routing, known as "Intelligent Acceptance," which optimizes authentication options for each transaction. This ensures shoppers can complete purchases in just three steps, providing a faster and smoother checkout experience, the company pointed out.
A recent study by Preply Business revealed that offering unique and unusual employee benefits can significantly enhance a company's success. Researchers found that top-performing companies provide perks like baby milk shipping, rooftop nature parks and rock climbing walls, among others. These innovative benefits not only attract skilled workers but also contribute to lower employee turnover and higher profit margins, Preply stated.
As remote work has broadened opportunities for candidates, standard benefits are no longer sufficient to attract top talent, Preply stated, adding that employers must now offer creative and distinctive perks to stay competitive. Preply analyzed the employee benefits programs of 50 leading companies across various industries, examining their impact on employee retention and financial performance and affirmed the role of unique perks in fostering employee satisfaction and driving company success.
Additional standout benefits identified include unlimited vacation, childcare reimbursement and $5,000 annually for wellness expenses. Companies that offer unusual perks, such as X and Clif Bar Co., are leading the way in providing employee-centric benefits that promote wellness and social responsibility Preply stated, citing, for instance, that X ranks #1 for unusual benefits like onsite laundry and "baby bonding bucks," while Clif Bar excels in health initiatives.
The study also highlighted that companies offering innovative perks experience an average employee turnover rate of 11.91 percent, significantly lower than the 14.70 percent seen in companies with more conventional benefits. Additionally, these companies enjoy higher average gross profit margins of 68.84 percent, compared to the overall average of 62.22 percent, researchers noted. 
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