Even With Apple Inc. (AAPL), Phones Won’t Rule Payments Quickly: Mastercard Inc (MA)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s entry in the payments space won’t upset the current status quo in the marketplace in the near term, Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) North America President Chris McWilton told CNBC in a discussion.

The comment from the Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) executive about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) came as he was discussing the future of payments from the perspective of his company as well as how they in the sector are handling security concerns in the wake of the notorious Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) cyber attack.

“Obviously, Apple with Apple Pay was sort of the elephant stepping on the scales mobile payments and traction this year. But I think it’s still going to be the payment world in the U.S. [will be] dominated by plastic for some period of time,” he said.

He noted that while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has stepped into the ring with Apple Pay, the consumer experience with plastic which Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) has a massive interest in is very easy. Hence, he implies that people won’t be changing habits to taking out their phones rather than their cards.

The Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) executive said that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and other companies like Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) with Google Wallet (and reportedly Samsung Electronics) are not replacing a terrible user experience in the payments industry. This is why he sees plastic still being the go-to for people in the near future for paying for goods and services.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the world’s second most profitable companies in 2014, announced Apple Pay in September during their launch for their new iPhones.

Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital is a Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) shareholder with about 15.08 million shares in the company by the end of the third quarter. Also by the end of that period, Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital reported owning about 2.08 million Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares.