Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 12

FEATURE INTERVIEW

PHOTOGR APHY BY RYAN FR ANCOZ

Mark O'Connell, president and CEO of Interac Association, speaks to Canadian Retailer about the latest in payments.

INTERAC UPS ITS GAME IN POWER
PLAY SHOWDOWN WITH CREDIT
In a candid interview Interac president and CEO highlights the ways
Canada's premier debit provider is staking its payments claim
BY R ANDY SCOTLAND
MARK O'Connell is stoked and spoiling for a fight. The

president & CEO of Interac Association-and Canada's
de facto champion of debit-is hitting back at the credit
card companies that are muscling in on his turf.
He concedes the deep pockets and formidable marketing machines of his card rivals have been chipping
away at Interac Debit's market share. But now he's ramping up a strategy to wrest back some of that stake.
"We have been more aggressive than any time in our
history," boasts O'Connell, a former top executive with
Emergis Inc. (now Telus) and Interac's head since 2007.
That pumped-up determination is evident in Interac's
extraordinary new Christmas ad campaign (from Toronto agency Zula Alpha Kilo), with its centerpiece commercial of toys carolling 'debt, debt' to a flustered shopper who switches payment from credit to debit.
Public policy also plays into O'Connell's game plan, in
particular the federal Code of Conduct for the Credit and
Debit Card Industry in Canada, which was enhanced ear12 |

CANADIAN RETAILER | HOLIDAY 2015

lier this year to address mobile payment options.
"The enhancements further promote fair and healthy
competition, and reinforce the importance of choice and
transparency for merchants and consumers," O'Connell
remarked at the time. "Within the Code of Conduct
there are a number of key provisions that merchants can
use to their advantage to help lower acceptance costs."
O'Connell is eager to point out that, within the Code,
retailers cannot be compelled to accept credit card companies' debit products-and their attendant acceptance
costs-if they accept the credit offerings.
It's a message that he is delivering far and wide, reminding merchants that the power to dictate payment
options best suited to their needs rests solely with them.
Canadian Retailer sat down recently with the charismatic chief executive for a wide-ranging discussion on
the evolving nature of the hyper-competitive payments
environment, and to hear his strategy for maintaining
Interac's status as Canada's leading payment brand.



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015

Publisher's Desk
Retail Currents
Retail: At Issue
Interac Ups Its Game in Power Play Showdown With Credit
Light in the Darkness
A Lifetime in Protection
Grocery Sector Stands Up to LP Challenges
Enter: The CSIO
CSCA Retail 100
Advertiser's Index
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - cover1
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - cover2
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 3
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - Publisher's Desk
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 5
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - Retail Currents
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 7
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 8
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 9
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - Retail: At Issue
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 11
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - Interac Ups Its Game in Power Play Showdown With Credit
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 13
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 14
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 15
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 16
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 17
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 18
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 19
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - Light in the Darkness
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 21
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 22
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 23
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 24
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 25
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - A Lifetime in Protection
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 27
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - Grocery Sector Stands Up to LP Challenges
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 29
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 30
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 31
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - Enter: The CSIO
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 33
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 34
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 35
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 36
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 37
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - CSCA Retail 100
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 39
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 40
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 41
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 42
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 43
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 44
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - Advertiser's Index
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 46
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - cover3
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - cover4
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 49
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 50
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 51
Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2015 - 52
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