We recently interviewed Daniel Wicharz, an online payment expert who has vast experience of working in credit card industry.
Pro Media Mag : Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Daniel Wicharz : My name is Daniel Wicharz. I work in the online industry for 11 years and am specialized in online payments. I have a master’s degree from the University of Hannover and have worked for leading global brands like Apple, PayPal and Google.
Pro Media Mag : Who or what inspired you to get into this industry?
Daniel Wicharz : I personally enjoy rapidly growing businesses and cutting edge technology. I want to be ahead of the market and existing businesses.
Pro Media Mag : You have worked with brands like PayPal and Google, working for big brand must be a tough ask?
Daniel Wicharz : It is indeed a challenge as much as a pleasure. There are always 2 sides of a coin, because on the one hand side you need to put a lot of work and effort into your success, but it is also very pleasing to harvest the fruits of your labor so to speak. I have learnt plenty of things in both companies working for them in Ireland. However I am also happy being back in my native country Germany which still – in my humble opinion – is a good place to be.
Pro Media Mag : What has been your major roles in your jobs you have done so far?
Daniel Wicharz : I was in charge of key account in terms of existing and new business. My job is to handle the relationships with large incorporations and also to unveil new business opportunities with new clients.
Pro Media Mag : Do you think credit card industry has brought so much changes in the sales and marketing?
Daniel Wicharz : Yes absolutely. Cards enable online sales in the first place. Most E-Commerce would not be possible if real-time instant payments were not possible. Also think about the possibilities cards offer. Not only you can pay in no time to anyone in the world in nearly all currencies, but you can also spend even more than you have since there is a credit attached to the card. Therefore credit cards do increase sales and are a must for all online merchants. Also in terms of marketing they change the game since now with all these international shoppers you need to be global, you cannot just reduce marketing to your own (small) market, you have to think and act on a truly global basis. That is something new in our generation that has never existed in the past.
Pro Media Mag : In your opinion how crucial is the role of Credit cards is in e-commerce payments?
Daniel Wicharz : Without cards most online businesses on a global level would not happen in the first place. There is almost nobody who would make the effort to wire funds to a seller via a regular bank transfer. This goes especially for the English speaking countries (think about the costs to send money by bank wire from the USA to for instance Germany. That can easily be 50 $). In Continental Europe there are some alternatives to regular bank wires like direct debit and convenient online bank transfers, however when it comes to international businesses cards are a must. You also have to consider that with a card you can process nearly any currency, be it USD, GBP or Armenian Dram, for the buyer it does not make much difference and the merchant gets settled in his chosen currency, be it CHF, Krona or €.
Pro Media Mag : What kind of role you would like to play in this industry in the future?
Daniel Wicharz : I will continue dealing with large enterprises and increase my already large network in the industry. Perhaps I will move to a more consulting role and advice people of international, European and domestic German payments. Both in Point of Sale and E-Commerce.
Pro Media Mag : Any advice for the aspiring individuals who want to start a career in Credit Card industry ?
Daniel Wicharz : I would split this advice by territory:
For the people in Europe: Learn more about credit cards and the international use. In Europe, and especially Germany we do tend to focus on our own national debit and girocard business, but when it comes to global commerce credit cards play the main role.
However when we speak about people from North America: My suggesting for those people is to research and study the plenty of alternative payment methods in Latin America and Europe. In these market the alternatives are usually even more important than cards. If you really fully want to understand the payments market and be a payment leader you want to know both sides of the coin.