Mercator presented its arguments for why Wearables will impact payments in 2016 and beyond here and here, but we might question the idea that everything is better when it can pay for stuff:
“LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MasterCard today announced a partnership with Coin to bring MasterCard payments to a wide array of fitness bands, smart watches and other wearable devices. This collaboration builds upon the MasterCard announcement in October introducing the Commerce for Every Device program to enable any consumer gadget, accessory or wearable to become a payment device.
Atlas Wearables, which designs advanced fitness trackers, Moov, a personal fitness coach on your wrist, and Omate, maker of fashionable smartwatches, are the first set of companies working with MasterCard and Coin to implement payment technology in their products.
‘The great thing about the MasterCard program is that we are adding payment functionality to items that consumers are already using – fitness bands, jewelry, clothing, watches,’ said Sherri Haymond, Senior Vice President, Digital Payments, MasterCard. ‘This makes the products more useful for consumers and enhances the value device manufacturers can deliver to their customers. Coin complements that approach and enables us to reach an expanded set of device partners.’ ”
While I trust some wearables will not need payments, such as my Jawbone UP3 sleep monitor, kudo’s to MasterCard and Coin for laying the foundation that will make Mercator’s prediction for 2016 come true! Now that the payment foundation is established; let the payments begin! Still waiting for further validation is the broader adoption of biometric sensors by wearables that will be used to establish persistent identity.
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group
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