Forget plastic money, let’s pay through wrist watch

Forget plastic money, lets pay via wrist watch (2) copy

Alkesh Sharma / Emirates Business

Imagine making a secure payment at a suburban fuel station through your wrist watch by just moving your arm before a machine. It could be certainly far more convenient and a great case of how useful Internet of Things (IoT) technology could be in daily life.
With the number of Internet of Things (IoT) enabled devices expected to reach a whopping number of 50 billion by 2020, there is an obvious need to attach them with secure payment options. Besides making customers’ lives easier, it will also expedite commerce practices while adding a much-needed element of transparency in the whole process.
This could also facilitate the device manufacturers to customise the payment options by evaluating the available technology-driven options.
In one such innovative initiative, Visa, a global payments technology company, is adding a series of IoT companies in its portfolio, offering a seamless path to integrate secure payments into their products and services.
“More and more consumers are relying on smart appliances and connected devices to make their lives easier. By adding payments to these devices, we are turning virtually any internet connection into a commerce experience,” said Jim McCarthy, executive vice president of innovation and strategic partnerships at Visa Inc..
“This commerce experience would make a smooth process for secure payments and ultimately more accessible, to merchants and consumers,” pointed out McCarthy.
Company officials are expecting remarkable market response from the industry leaders, pioneering in IoT technology. One sector drawing immense attention is wearables market, which is projected to reach $53 billion in sales by 2019. Owing to its rapidly growing popularity, wearables industry obviously demands utmost secure transactions and connectivity.
End users of this out-the-box technology are quite enthusiastic over this groundbreaking offering.
Anand Swaminathan, managing director of growth & strategy, Accenture Digital, said, “This is the type of secure, frictionless payment enabler that we are looking to include in commercial solutions as clients start experimenting with how best to take advantage of the IoT. We lead a range of initiatives with contextual commerce capabilities that could integrate Visa Token Services.”
Visa has announced the expansion of its ‘Visa Ready’ programme by including companies active in the manufacturing of wearables, automobiles, appliances, public transportation services, clothing and almost any other connected device.
Visa Ready programme will help IoT companies to link with mobile device manufacturers, including mobile point-of-sale acceptance (mPOS) providers, mobile NFC-enabled (near field communication) device manufacturers and other technology partners.
“Partners in this programme will receive an instant access to industry’s best practices, tools and resources, and streamlined access to Visa Token Service (VTS). VTS technology ensures secure mobile and digital payments anywhere in the world where there is an internet connection,” said a senior official of Visa.

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