The coronavirus pandemic is changing a lot of things, but it's also created a need for consistency — especially for financial products.
Mastercard must make sure its card issuers are adapting to the pandemic while also maintaining the value of products that are hardest hit during the crisis, such as travel rewards cards.
People aren't giving up on travel, but they're doing it differently, and that's evident in their spending patterns. More money is spent on rental cars, less on airfare, but people are still moving about and spending money, and they'll still have a need for payment cards and a desire to earn rewards.
Will these changes be permanent? Perhaps. A few of these trends, such as a desire among consumers to spend travel rewards in other categories, or to split large purchases into installments, predate the pandemic and are likely to continue going forward.
Host: Michael Moeser, Senior Analyst, PaymentsSource
Guest: Jess Turner, EVP of consumer and small business solutions, Mastercard