Mastercard leads conversations at Digital and Innovation Workshop in Sri Lanka

Mastercard hosted over 210 senior representatives from banking, financial services and retail, as well as other key stakeholders at the inaugural Digital & Innovation Workshop held at the Hilton, Colombo recently. The event is part of Mastercard’s ongoing efforts to support banks and other stakeholders in consumer payments in formulating digital and payments strategies. 

Welcoming partners’ representatives to the event, Mastercard Country Manager, Sri Lanka & Maldives R.B. Santosh Kumar said, “We share a long standing bond with Sri Lanka. We were one of the first electronic payments processing network to enter the island and have been present here since the late ’80s. Over the years, we have been able to build strong relationships with all our partners and stakeholders and would like to thank them for their continued support.” 

Going beyond business interests, Mastercard collaborates with its local partners on a strategic advisory level too, supporting them in driving their cards and digital strategies. Mastercard’s Sri Lanka team has dedicated resources in account management, merchant relationships and business development supporting Mastercard’s global teams and this has allowed Mastercard to work more closely with all stakeholders and serve them better.

“Inspired by the market’s passion for innovation, we strive to bring more of our emerging technologies and world class, secure payment solutions to Sri Lanka. Together, we can help accelerate Sri Lanka’s transformation into a truly cashless society. The Digital & Innovation Workshop is yet another step towards this goal,” added Santosh.

A panel of experts from Mastercard offered a sneak peek into the next wave of Mastercard powered solutions that will be rolled out in Sri Lanka together with its local partners. Sharing their learnings from around the world, these experts also sought to learn more about the local market from the audience.

Mastercard Labs, Asia Pacific Vice President Tobias Puehse introduced Mastercard Labs, the company’s global Research & Development arm dedicated to bringing innovative payment solutions to the market with greater speed. 

Mastercard Director of Digital Payments and Head of Push Payments Satya Padhiary shed light on Masterpass QR – a fast, secure, convenient and cost-effective electronic payment solution that provides a viable alternative to cash. He also spoke about Mastercard Send, a first-of-its-kind interoperable global platform that enables funds to be sent quickly and securely via disbursements, domestic peer to peer (P2P) payments and cross-border P2P payments.

Mastercard Head of Merchant Development South Asia Varun Sakhuja highlighted how Mastercard was bringing innovation to retail payments and shared insights on its strategic merchant partnerships. 

Mastercard Advisors Division Lead, South Asia Gaurav Batra introduced Mastercard Advisors to the audience. It is the professional services arm of Mastercard that provides near real-time transaction data and proprietary analysis, data-driven consulting, and marketing services solutions to help clients optimize, streamline and grow their businesses.

Mastercard Director of Market Product Management Gautam Pande spoke about authentication and identity solutions and Krishnadas Mohandas, Director of Product Management, Mastercard, shed light on Mastercard Digital Solutions. 

Mastercard Vice President, Business Development Shubhrendu Koche apprised the audience on how Mastercard Smart Cities is making cities smarter, more sustainable and more inclusive though data driven insights, advanced technologies and its global network. 

Participants appreciated the valuable insights shared by the team from Mastercard.