We are paying for things in new ways; that much is clear. We're paying for taxi rides using our Uber app, checking out personally tailored offers on Facebook, and downloading films to our Amazon Kindles -- without ever pulling the plastic out of our wallets. Yet Ken Chenault plans to insure that American Express (AXP) remains in the center of every transaction.
我们正在采用新的支付方式，这一点已经很明显了。我们会用打车应用Uber支付出租车费，在Facebook上为个人定制产品结账，把电影下载到我们的亚马逊（Amazon）Kindle平板电脑上——而不用从钱包里抽出塑料信用卡。现在，肯o切诺特要确保让美国运通（American Express）在每笔交易中都占据中心地位。
At the Mobile-First Summit in New York, I sat down with the chief executive to discuss the future of mobile payments. Below is a condensed version of our conversation, edited for clarity.
纽约Mobile-First峰会期间，我与这位首席执行官坐在一起，讨论了移动支付的未来。以下是我们谈话的内容概要，为了表述清晰，对话经过了一定编辑。
Fortune: What is the scope of the mobile opportunity for American？
《财富》：美国运通在移动领域的机遇有多大？
Chenault: Mobile is redefining both online and offline commerce. The penetration of m-commerce in e-commerce was around 0.09% [Meaning that less than one percent of e-commerce transactions happened on mobile devices --Ed.]. By 2017, it's projected to be at 26% and that's just penetration in e-commerce.
切诺特：移动产品重新定义了线上和线下的商业活动。移动商务在电子商务中所占的比例大约是0.09%（编者注：即意味着电子商务只有不到1%的交易是通过移动设备完成的）。但到2017年，这个比例预计将达到26%，这还只是它在电子商务领域的渗透程度。
That's just e-commerce. When will we stop breaking it out and talk simply about commerce?
这说的只是电子商务。我们什么时候才能不再区分电子或非电子商务，而简单地把它们都视为商务呢？
What's happening is a gigantic opportunity. Mobile will redefine how commerce is done. Steve Jobs redefined the retail experience. I think commerce and mobile will do an even more transformational job in an exponential way. The opportunity for startups to redefine the power of mobile is incredible. Scale is important, but if you have the idea, you now have the ability to connect with companies that can drive that scale. Clearly there are five platforms that will play an important role and be very powerful: Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Facebook (FB), and Alibaba. More and more, startups will be able to connect to these services to scale quickly.
一个巨大的机遇正在出现。移动设备会重新定义商业方式。史蒂夫o乔布斯重新定义了零售体验。我认为，商务和移动设备将会以指数增长的形式带来更加具有革命性的变化。初创公司有机会重新定义移动设备的力量，这真是不可思议。业务规模很重要，不过如果你有点子，你现在就可以联系那些能够驱动这种规模的公司。显然，现在有五大平台将会扮演举足轻重的角色，成为强大的力量：亚马逊（Amazon）、苹果（Apple）、谷歌（Google）、Facebook和阿里巴巴（Alibaba）。越来越多的初创公司将会与这些服务商合作，从而迅速扩大自己的规模。
How does the competitive landscape change?
竞争格局将会发生什么变化？
I think it's important to understand the payments industry and commerce is going through fundamental change. You are seeing a blurring of commerce, mobile, payments, and a convergence of online and offline. In the near term, plastic is not going to go away. You are going to see a demarcation between payment companies. There are going to be those that stay in the status quo, and they're going to focus on facilitating payments. That is a mistake. They will be reduced to a commodity. There will be those companies who will focus on the entire commerce journey, and that's us.
我认为，要明白支付业和商务即将经历翻天覆地的变化，这一点十分重要。大家正目睹着商务、移动设备和支付的界限日益模糊，线上和线下也开始整合。短期内，塑料信用卡并不会被淘汰。大家会看到支付公司之间产生分化。有些公司会维持现状，他们会专注于推动支付行业的发展。但这是错误的。他们最后会退化成一种商品。还会有一些公司将会注重全部的商业流程，我们就是其中之一。
I'll give you one example of how payments has changed: Uber has changed payments. Infrastructure hasn't changed at all, but the experience is frictionless and seamless, and you don't even know you're consummating a payment.
我来给你举个例子，告诉你支付行业已经发生的改变：Uber已经改变了支付的形式。那些基本的东西没有改变，但是这种体验是顺畅无缝的，你甚至都不知道你已经完成了支付。
We have the largest integrated global payments platform. We bring together users, card members, and merchants, and the data is incredibly valuable. We know where they spend online and offline. We want to deliver benefits and services when our card members want it, where, and how they want it.
我们拥有最大的集成式全球支付平台。我们让用户、持卡者和商人聚在了一起，他们的数据具有无与伦比的价值。我们知道他们在哪里进行线上和线下消费。无论我们的持卡者希望在何时何地、用何种方式获得我们提供的实惠和服务，我们都希望能满足他们的需求。
Let's talk about Uber. I use it, and just noticed this morning that when I pulled up Google Maps to get directions to this venue, the app offered me the option to call Uber. As a consumer, I was dealing with the Google brand and the Uber brand. Yes, I made the payment on my American Express card, which is linked to my Uber account, but the AmEx brand didn't come into my line of sight. Is that a good or a bad thing for AmEx?
我们谈谈Uber吧。我用过它，今天早上我用谷歌地图导航到这个会场，发现谷歌地图可以让我选择使用Uber。作为一名消费者，我同时接触到谷歌品牌和Uber品牌。是的，我是用与Uber账户关联的美国运通卡付的钱，但是我没有看到美国运通的商标。这对运通来说是好是坏？
For us it's a good thing because at the end of the day we have a well-known and trusted brand ... here's not much of a difference between saying I want to be the first card in the wallet and saying I want to have AmEx as my default option. What is critical is the benefits, services, and innovation we provide so we're the first card in the wallet.
对我们来说，这是一件好事，因为总之我们有一个广为人知的可靠品牌……“我想成为钱包中信用卡的第一选择”，和“我想让美国运通成为我的默认选择”，这个区别并不大。关键在于我们要提供实惠、服务和创新，来保证我们成为钱包中信用卡的首选。
So you're talking about the difference between the transaction and what you call "the journey." What's involved in that journey?
所以你谈的是交易和你所说的“过程”之间的区别。那个过程中包含什么？
Here's what's key. If we look at how mobile devices are used, people who use mobile devices in the shoppers' journey are 40% more likely to convert to sales. Think about how people use information, how they leverage recommendations they get from social media sites. The key is to understand the different elements of the commerce journey. We want to be where our customers are. We want to deliver them benefits in the way they want to have those benefits presented to them. It goes back to a key message I give in my organization: This is an environment where you innovate or die. We want to be the company that will put us out of business.
这就是关键点。我们可以注意一下移动设备的使用情况，在购物过程中使用移动设备的顾客购买东西的可能性会提高40%。想想人们会如何利用信息，如何参考他们从社交媒体网站上获得的推荐。关键在于了解商务过程中不同的元素。我们希望与我们的顾客同在。我们想要以顾客希望的方式为他们提供便利和实惠。这其实就是我在公司内部的一个关键理念：在这个环境中，要么创新，要么等死。我们要做不仅仅是盈利。
Part of that is looking beyond the trends to understand systematic change. Were digital wallets a fad? In 2011, companies like Google and Square launched them. In 2014, many of those efforts haven't worked and are being retried. Are digital wallets dead?
诀窍之一是看看潮流的方向，从而理解系统性的变化。数码钱包风靡过吗？2011年，谷歌和Square等公司发布了这项功能。到2014年，在这方面的许多努力都没有奏效，人们还在不断尝试。数码钱包是不是已经宣告死亡了？
I don't think they're dead, but if you go back to what I said publicly in 2011, I didn't think these wallets met a value proposition. I'm going to tap to pay? What's the friction that it's really solving? What are the benefits that I'm getting? How is that helping me in my shopping journey? At the end of the day, the failure of wallets was not being focused enough on customer needs.
我没觉得它们消亡了，不过你可以回顾我在2011年公开说过的话，我觉得这种钱包没有找到合适的价值定位。通过轻触屏幕来付款？这能真正解决什么难题呢？我能得到什么好处呢？在购物过程中，它帮到了我什么？总而言之，数码钱包的失败，在于它们没有专注于解决消费者的需求。
But you think some efforts have worked?
但你认为有些努力已经奏效了？
We acquired a platform called Revolution Money in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis. It is a very flexible alternative payments platform. We said, There's a large population of folks not being served -- there are 70 million people in this country who don't have a checking account or don't believe they're being served well. NerdWallet has said with prepaid cards, you're paying $300 a year to use your own money. With checking accounts, people are paying several hundred dollars a year if they don't have a minimum balance. So we came out with an online payment platform that works offline and online. In early 2014, once we got the platform stabilized, we brought on 2.4 million customers. In the month of April alone, we brought on 1 million customers. They're transacting volumes on our platform. Wallets, if they are done right, can work. Mobile apps will play an important role going forward.
我们在2009年金融危机高峰期收购了一个叫做Revolution Money的平台。这是一个非常灵活、有多样化选择的支付平台。我们说，还有许多人没有享受到我们的服务——这个国家有7,000万人口还没有存款户头，或者不认为他们得到了很好的金融服务。金融网站NerdWallet表示，使用借记卡就等于你每年要花300美元来用你自己的钱。如果人们存款账户中的钱没有达到最低存款额度，每年就要支付几百美元。所以我们研发了一个线下线上都能使用的在线支付平台。2014年初，这个平台开始平稳运营，随即就拥有了240万用户。仅仅4月一个月，用户数量就增加了100万。他们在我们的平台上进行交易。如果数码钱包供应商能够做出正确的决策，那么钱包就还是可行的。移动应用在它们发展的过程中会起到很重要的作用。
We made further changes to the functionality of the platform so you can do anything you want -- pay bills, do peer-to-peer-payments, write checks. The term we coined in our company is that it is expensive to be poor. But we can develop a model where we have attractive economics, so instead of paying $14.95 a month for a prepaid card, you pay $1 a month with us for a far better service.
我们进一步改进了平台的功能，这样大家就可以做自己想做的任何事了——支付账单、完成点对点付款、开支票。在公司中，我们总结出了一条规律：当穷人的代价是很大的。但是我们可以开发一个模式来吸引资金，于是大家就不必每个月为预付卡花上14.95美元了。你可以与我们合作，每个月只付1美元，就能享受好得多的服务。
Peer-to-peer payments: How important is the capability?
点对点支付：这项功能有多重要？
It's very important, but what's critical is that you have got to connect peer-to-peer payments with a range of services that meet a variety of needs. As a standalone, it's difficult to generate the economics you need. But there's a very high demand. We looked at where spending takes place. Outside of credit cards and charge cards, there's $25 trillion out there. That's a tremendous opportunity.
它很重要，不过关键在于你需要将点对点支付与满足各种需求的多项服务关联起来。作为单一的服务项目，它很难为你带来可观的利润。不过它有着很大的需求。我们了解了一下消费者把钱都花在哪里了。在信用卡和签帐卡之外，还有25万亿美元的市场。这是一个巨大的机遇。
You've done creative things with the AmEx loyalty program like recently making it possible for people to pay for a New York City cab ride with points. Are people actually using this service?
你在运通的忠诚度项目上有许多创新点，比如最近人们可以在纽约用积分搭计程车。人们真的在用这个服务吗？
Yes! It is frictionless, and once people use it, 80% of the them return.
对！这项服务用起来很方便，人们一旦用过一次，80%都会再次使用。
(Audience member: "I'm worried it's a bad deal, that the points can be used better elsewhere.")
（一位听众表示：“我很害怕这项交易不合算，或许积分可以被用到更好的地方呢。”）
Here's what you're missing. Do you want to only use those points for airlines? People have said, "I want choice and convenience." If you just say for every dollar there's one point, people want a wide variety of choices.
那你就想错了。你只想把那些积分用来坐飞机吗？人们说：“我想要很多选择，还想要省心。”如果你只是说，每一美元的消费会带来一点积分，那么人们会想要多种多样的选择。