Kirkpatrick said one of the biggest benefits of a thriving digital payments industry is the ability to expand financial inclusion. It is a concept that brings more people into the formal financial system, thereby expanding opportunities and promoting prosperity.
Expanding financial inclusion enables more people to open financial accounts, start businesses, make and receive payments, and access savings, transfers, and loans.
To bring these benefits to more people, Mastercard is currently working towards its long-term goal of connecting 1 billion people and 50 million small businesses to the digital economy by 2025.
“Financial inclusion for us is not just the right thing for society,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s also good for our business.”
He added that Mastercard continues to invest in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and new payment technologies to empower and protect small businesses and those new to the digital economy.
Her views were further reinforced during a panel discussion that included small business owner Rahama Wright, Karl Holshauser, executive vice president of trade group Technet, and Carrie Hunt, chief advocacy officer of Credit Union of America. Ta.
Wright, who runs the Washington, D.C.-based skin care company Shea Yelene, said she can't run her business without digital payments. He added that supporting digital payments is an essential way to help small businesses, as they drive nearly every local economy and employ millions of people across the country.
“That’s what’s driving our ability to receive payments quickly, quickly and securely,” she said. “If you want to say you support small businesses, help them make money faster, and digital payments make it possible.”
Credit unions, which are nonprofit organizations, also need digital payments because their customers rely on them, Hunt said. Holhauser said the United States needs innovation to stay ahead of fraudsters and remain globally competitive. Overregulation will limit it. “Red tape never produced the innovation that we're seeing,” he said.
McHenry said his father's story inspired his work in Congress to support startup capital and technology companies. He said the best way to leverage his entrepreneurial spirit is to encourage more partnerships between fintechs and banks, promote digital payments, and support legislation for digital assets and stablecoins. Stated.
“We need to unlock that potential,” McHenry said. “And it will help banking, yes. It will help economic growth. But it also helps individuals become better at taking risks.”
He added that he kept an old Master Charge card that his father used to start the family business.
“Now my brother has taken over. He employs several hundred people. So the company has grown. It has grown quite a bit, but the first external debt or capital came from Mastercard. ” he said.
Banner photo: Rahama Wright (second from left), Carrie Hunt (left), entrepreneur who founded the skincare brand Shea Yelleen, and Carl Holhauser, Chief Advocacy Officer at Credit Union of America (TechNet Executive Vice President). President, second from right), Punchbowl News CEO, Anna Palmer, right.
