MASTERCARD

But at the heart of its business is a universal desire to connect and power an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone , everywhere .

The payments giant is achieving this by making transactions safe , simple , smart and accessible , providing a seamless , omnichannel experience along the way . “ I love the fact that so many of our clients also have the same mission ,” says Amnah Ajmal , EVP Market Development for the EEMEA region . “ If you ’ re aligned at the top from a mission standpoint , it really makes it easy to do business .

“ People buy from people , and we make sure our purpose is directly from the heart . I look after different segments that cut across multiple geographies and have different needs but one mission : to make people ’ s lives better and transform their digital experiences .”

She adds : “ Most of our clients are venturing into new lines of business , for example financial services , where we leverage data , trust and distribution with telcos , retailers and marketplaces . They have bold ambitions and we support them in bringing their visions to life . The financial services industry is complex , but every innovation isn ’ t about transformation . We offer simple solutions to complex problems to fuel the bold ambition of our clients .”

There are two simple , fundamental ways Mastercard is helping clients diversify their businesses . Firstly , by enabling acceptance on SMEs ’ phones , and secondly , by equipping consumers with digital cards enabled in their mobile phone wallets .

Ajmal says : “ As we enable this hyper growth of new business lines , we also support future-proofing of their businesses by leveraging our security and safety assets .” Plenty has changed since Ajmal joined Mastercard in 2015 .

Nobody was talking about artificial intelligence nine years ago , she says , whereas now it ’ s become almost impossible to have a single meeting without AI being raised .

What ’ s more , the topics of sustainability and diversity have gone from being afterthoughts to everyday conversations .

“ Sustainability wasn ’ t really top of mind back then ,” Ajmal continues . “ But in the last decade a lot of our work has been around protecting the planet and fostering prosperity around the world . Gender and diversity , too , has become a mindset , a way of working .

“ My journey in this role has definitely changed as well , given we ’ ve historically focused on financial institutions and banks . Now we have partnerships across digital merchants , governments and telcos .”

54 April 2024