Ford released its first ever report on global consumer trends yesterday, and Ford Futurist Sheryl Connolly discussed these concepts with a panel of experts at the report's release in New York City.
One of the highlighted trends is the increasing value of trust.
Trust in brands is down, so consumers prize it even more. That's especially true in the financial industry due to the recent crisis, and the fact that it holds consumer's most sensitive data.
Cheryl Guerin, senior vice president and group head of US Marketing at MasterCard, and one of the panelists, argued that trust is an advantage for established companies as of new technology enters the world of payments.
New technology means new security worries, so the years the company has spent building trust may pay off.
"I think that might be the Achilles Heel of these new payments systems," Guerin said, "they don't have that level of trust."
This is incredibly important for MasterCard. Though Guerin didn't mention any specific companies, near field communications technologies being developed by Google and others are allowing your phone to replace credit cards.
Startups like GoPago are trying to get rid of the cash register entirely, and others like Venmo let you conveniently pay friends via app or text message.
Companies like MasterCard hope they'll be able to avoid disruption because consumers will trust these technologies coming from them, rather than from small companies they've barely heard of, or big ones they don't associate with protecting their financial assets.
NOW READ: Ford's Futurist Says These Massive Trends Will Define 2013
Please follow War Room on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
