Time is ticking to be in the running for one of the most sought-after accolades in the payments industry at The Card and Payments Awards (TCPA) 2023.
The Card and Payments Awards (TCPA) are known as the most prestigious awards event in the payments industry, supporting the industry for almost two decades.
Whether you are a startup or a big player in the space, there are a total of 22 awards up for grabs covering the whole ecosystem.
This year brings the addition of new categories to recognise the Best Initiative in Sustainability, Best Payments Facility and Best Future Payments.
In the Best Future Payments category, companies are invited to enter new payments initiatives that are in early market development. Limited solely to payments-related initiatives covering the transferal of funds or token of exercisable value (electronic or otherwise) between parties at the point of transaction or thereafter. Entries do not need to provide commercial success metrics but will be expected to provide clarity on how the initiative creates value for users and the customer segments targeted.
The event
This year’s sponsor panel includes Prime Sponsor TSYS, a Global Payments Company, MongoDB, American Express, Discover Financial Services, Mastercard, Visa and many more. If you are looking to celebrate your successes over the past two years and gain credible brand exposure then this is the event to be at.
TCPA is known as the ‘must go to’ event for networking among a very senior audience, hosted by the likes of Claudia Winkleman, Gyles Brandreth, Alistair McGowen to name a few. It guarantees a great night of celebrations and valuable business conversations.
Chris Harris, member of the judging panel, says: “TCPA are the longest-standing and most highly coveted payments awards in the UK. What I am looking forward to this year is seeing how the customer experience is shaping the entries. Quite often we see entries from organisations that have never entered before being truly stand-out because they have approached their submission with fresh eyes and a focused clarity.
“Entries that are focused on the criteria of the award category they are entered into, providing a well-constructed, articulated and succinct submission for each section of their entry and providing the datapoints requested really do stand-out.
“Quite often we see entries from organisations that have never entered before being truly stand-out because they have approached their submission with fresh eyes and a focused clarity. What I am looking forward to this year is seeing how the customer experience is shaping the entries.”
Is this you?
Customer relationships are integral to the payments process and should always be a high priority for businesses in the industry. The Team at TCPA want to see businesses enter who can detail specific achievements in Best Customer Service – from card issuers, their brands, merchant acquirers and other payments providers who can demonstrate a true understanding of their customers’ needs through the delivery of customer service excellence should enter!
Point of Sale is high on the agenda too. The judges are keen to see POS initiatives which can be any technology, facility or initiative offered or executed at point of sale (both hardware and software) and can provide evidence of an enhancement or improvement throughout the payments process to either the consumer or the business.
This can be in the physical or virtual environment. Along with any processing programme or proposition in any part of the payments value chain. This can be in the physical or virtual environment. Where relevant, submissions can be in conjunction with other payment providers or the merchant customer.
“Because of Covid and contactless payments, the UK has shown it operates one of the most effective and efficient POS estates in the EU,” says Peter Jones, judge, and chairman of PSE Consulting – the payments specialists. “The annual statistics are mind boggling with 2.5 million terminals accepting 22 billion transactions, a trillion in turnover, and a current tap and go run rate of 75 per cent debit and 60 per cent of credit. Face to Face payments are flourishing and not yesterday’s technology. The digital takeover is many years away.”
Finally, the judges are also keen to see entries for the innovative use of Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning (AI/ML) to deliver either an improved experience or a new opportunity. This was a new category last year and the team want to see how AI/ML has been used to delivers an innovative solution to a specific problem and that benefits the business and/or customer.
Why enter?
“Entries stand out when they demonstrate innovation and differentiation that really solves for a need or pain point within the payments ecosystem, this coupled with a strong evidence base of results and great customer outcomes,” says Rachael Jenkinson, judge, and VP, customer value management, Mastercard UK and Ireland.
“This is the top event that starts the year and covers the whole card and payments business rather than focus on specific categories or business segments,” comments Tribh Grewal, judge, and head of altpay, fintech and commercial solutions, Discover Financial Services.
“TPCA continues to be the flagship event for celebrating and rewarding the best of the best in our industry. We are proud to be involved and thoroughly enjoy bringing our clients and partners to this event, it a chance to shine a light on excellence,” adds Claire McKeogh, client engagement director, Visa – sponsor of the Social Inclusion in Financial Services.
For the full list of category descriptions visit www.cardandpaymentsawards.com
or email the team [email protected].
Deadline for entries is Tuesday 27 September
