Chief Commercial Payments Officer, Mastercard
Search every verified P. Seshadri interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a September 2020 virtual session, Raj Seshadri, Chief Commercial Payments Officer at Mastercard, discussed the company's use of data and analytics. He stated that Mastercard processes roughly 87 billion transactions per year across 2.6 billion cards, and described the data collected as "very limited and anonymized" to protect individual privacy. Seshadri emphasized that "data itself is not a competitive advantage," arguing that the key is how organizations think about and deploy data. He also addressed security, noting that Mastercard uses a "multi-layered approach" including machine learning and acquisitions such as RiskRecon and Strategic to perform vulnerability scans. Seshadri commented on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, observing that the shift to touchless retail had "flipped traditional high-touch customer service on its head." He also discussed artificial intelligence, stating that Mastercard focuses on "minimizing biases and unintended consequences" by being deliberate about data use and analytical techniques. The session covered Mastercard's Spending Pulse report, which Seshadri said predicts retail market trends by combining Mastercard transaction data with third-party data to estimate total retail spend.
“At Mastercard, we help customers including issuers, banks, merchants, and governments make smarter decisions for better outcomes by using data and insights to help them do well in their businesses and better engage with their consumers.”
“We process roughly about 87 billion transactions per year across 2.6 billion cards worldwide, but the data we collect is very limited and anonymized to protect individual privacy, focusing only on aggregated, statistically relevant groups of transactions.”
“Our Spending Pulse report predicts the retail market by extrapolating Mastercard transaction data combined with third-party data to estimate total retail spend, including cash and checks, providing valuable insights especially during the COVID-19 crisis.”
“Security is a top priority; we use a multi-layered approach called 'security by design' which includes prevention, identification, and detection to keep Mastercard transactions and the digital ecosystem secure.”
“We acquired companies like RiskRecon and Strategic to perform outside-in and inside-out vulnerability scans, helping us identify and mitigate cyber risks effectively to get the most impact from security investments.”
“Machine learning and AI are deployed in our network to detect and stop fraudulent transactions, working alongside banks' and merchants' own fraud prevention techniques to protect the 87 billion transactions processed annually.”
“Contactless EMV transactions are just as secure as physical EMV transactions, using cryptographic standards to ensure security, which is especially important as contactless payments have become more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The shift to touchless retail during COVID-19 has flipped traditional high-touch customer service on its head, emphasizing quality and care through minimal physical interaction, which has become a new standard in consumer experience.”
“Artificial intelligence and machine learning are often misunderstood buzzwords; at Mastercard, we focus on minimizing biases and unintended consequences in AI by being deliberate about data use and analytical techniques to avoid inheriting existing biases.”
“Data itself is not a competitive advantage; what matters is how you think about it, use it, and deploy it effectively to gain insights and drive innovation.”
HOW DATA IS HELPING EXECUTIVES RETHINK EVERYTHING WITH RAJ SESHADRI A TECHONOMY VIRTUAL SESSION ...
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