It’s no surprise that mobile has changed the dynamic of pretty much everything we do. At Visa, mobile connectivity is providing an ability to grow our business beyond the boundaries of telephony and electricity to anywhere with an Internet connection, bringing the benefits of electronic payments to more remote corners of the world and new places, such as the things you wear, appliances in your home or even someday soon, the car in your garage. This emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), brings an immense opportunity to traditional industry players, payment newcomers, and consumers to be the ultimate beneficiaries of an even faster, more seamless and secure way to pay.
These broad inflection points come every decade or two in our industry, requiring that we make sure our clients and partners have the easiest, fastest ways to capture growth from these market shifts. Whether it is opening our network with the Visa Developer Platform, building the Visa Token Service or any other number of shifts we have made over the last several years to help make this happen, we do this to ensure Visa remains the best way to pay and be paid, for everyone, everywhere.
Token Service Provider expansion
Today, to help our clients drive further acceleration into IoT payments, we are announcing a significant expansion of our global token service provider (TSP) program, adding 15 new partners from around the world. Our new TSP partners will be able to help meet this demand by offering payment token services to new companies, such as consumer device manufacturers, IoT companies, and wallet providers, among others.
“How We Will Pay” survey with PYMNTS.com
To underscore the importance of the TSP program, Visa collaborated with PYMNTS.com on a survey, “How We Will Pay,” that explores consumer attitudes for payment enablement on connected devices. Among some of the topline findings were that 80 percent of respondents expressed strong interest in using devices to make purchases, with 83 percent citing that paying via devices can help save them time. Complete results can be found here.
Wired Business Conference
We announced the TSP program and PYMNTs.com survey results from the Wired Business Conference, where so many of the companies who are on the front lines of what’s next in technology are represented, and who will be among the companies driving demand for embedded payments. In keeping with what Wired is known best for, we are also offering event attendees a glimpse into “what’s next” in payments. Attendees will be able to experience several demos, such as:
- RetailNEXT – No lines at the register. No cluttered racks. Visa refreshes the shopping experience by showcasing a collection of gadgets from Loop and Tie, a gift servicing company and the kickoff event winner in Visa’s Everywhere Initiative competition in Austin.
- ServiceNEXT – No worries about getting the attention of the bartender, attendees will order and pay for sphere shaped, molecular-themed drinks by a touch of a button, delivering drinks instantaneously.
- ExperienceNEXT – A multi-sensory holistic service of the future, the augmented reality (AR)-based hospitality suite utilizes visual imagery, aromatherapy, sound and theatrical effects.
Each of these demos can be unlocked using a wearable “imprint” demo, an NFC-based adhesive sticker that is discreetly applied to the body (see video here). Our goal is always to spark the imagination of clients or potential clients and show the art of the possible and that’s what we have strived to do at this year’s Wired Business Conference.