Inside the Future of Payments with a 30-Year Industry Veteran, Pascal Libert

For this edition of our newsletter on digital innovation in retail, we sat down with Pascal Libert a seasoned expert who has spent three decades shaping how Europe pays. From Mastercard and Western Union to launching his own consultancy, he has been at the forefront of contactless technology, digital vouchers, disruptive payment solutions, and—more recently—crypto-enabled payments. Below is our conversation.

You’ve had quite a remarkable journey in the payments industry. How would you summarize your professional background?

I've been working in payments for 30 years. My career started at Mastercard, where I spent 14 years and introduced the first contactless transactions back in 2006. After that, I worked for Worldline, then Elavon—one of the major global players—and later Western Union, which gave me a different perspective on cash-heavy money transfers.

When I turned 50, I decided to leave large corporations and open my own company, Done For You. The reason was simple: I was tired of big providers pushing off-the-shelf solutions on merchants and telling them to “just adapt.”
My approach is the opposite. I start with the merchant’s needs, analyze them, and then assemble the right payment solution from the best technologies on the market. No “one-size-fits-all”—everything is tailored.

And one more promise: whatever I deliver is at least 20–25% cheaper than their current solution, plus they get personal support from people who know the industry inside out.

I prefer fewer merchants but deep relationships. Quality over quantity.

I also love disruptive technologies. Over my career I helped launch contactless payments, digitized paper meal vouchers into cards, and five years ago introduced crypto payments through partners like GoCrypto/Naka—solutions that didn’t exist at the time.

The payments industry has changed dramatically. How do you see the current shift toward digital and crypto?

It’s a very big question. When I joined Mastercard in 1996, the slogan was “war on cash.” They predicted cash would disappear soon. Well—here we are in 2025, and cash is still very much alive.

Even in Belgium, one of the most digitalized payment markets, cash is still used. That’s why my philosophy is simple: merchants must accept everyform of payment—cash, card, mobile, crypto. You cannot force consumers to use just one method.

Crypto is now mainstream. And digital euro, instant payments, QR-based systems—these things are becoming standard. We can’t hide from them.

But there’s also a worrying trend: more restrictions and more data linking—for example, age-based purchase blocking at the payment level. Mastercard and Visa call it progress. I find it intrusive.

The future is flexibility: merchants must be ready for allpayment forms.

Do countries differ much in how they adopt new payment technologies?

Yes—enormously. No two European countries behave the same.

Belgium, France, Germany—markets with strong legacy systems—are slower to adopt innovations. Meanwhile Central Europe (Slovakia, Slovenia, etc.) moves much faster.

Germany is still heavily cash-based. Belgium had slow contactless adoption. Meanwhile Slovakia and Slovenia have excellent mobile networks, which accelerates digital payment usage.

One universal pattern, though, is mobile payments. Once people start using Apple Pay or Google Pay, they never go back to plastic cards. That trend is identical everywhere.

You also work extensively with gift cards and loyalty systems. What trends do you see there?

A gift card is just a prepaid card—and the value is enormous, yet many merchants still don’t understand it. I still meet stores using paper loyalty stamps when digital options are literally one tap away.

Cost is the biggest excuse: issuing cards, building an app, migrating from paper. But they forget the cost of manual work: counting paper coupons, printing vouchers, managing errors—it adds up.

The brands that get it are moving fast. For example: a coffee chain in Slovakia with a beautifully designed loyalty app—scan a QR code, register instantly, receive €10, and start collecting rewards. Clean, modern, and extremely effective.

With small independent merchants, cost feels heavier. But for chains and shopping malls, the ROI is huge. And the digital evolution is clear:

Gift and loyalty systems are becoming more powerful, more flexible, and more connected to customer data.

Many merchants overlook the time they save by digitizing gift and loyalty programs. Is that also your experience?

Absolutely. Same as with cash: people forget the hidden costs. Handling cash takes work. Handling paper loyalty takes work. Digital saves hours—and offers data that paper never could.

But yes—education is the biggest challenge. Once merchants see the value, they never go back.

What about life outside business—any hobbies or passions?

Family comes first, always. After that: football and music. I used to play football, and I’m a devoted Chelsea supporter—Barcelona too, thanks to my father.

But my biggest passion is Depeche Mode. I’ve followed them for 40 years, collected meet-and-greets, and attended 18 concerts during their last tour. As you can see from my T-shirt, I can’t hide it.

I also love skiing—Austria is my second home in winter.

And I must say, I love Slovenia. The sea on one side, mountains on the other, friendly people… If the future brings me to Ljubljana one day, I wouldn’t complain.