M2M Connectivity Featured Article

MasterCard (News - Alert) has introduced a new program that will bring MasterCard payments to a wide array of consumer products across the automotive, fashion, technology, wearables, and yet to be imagined categories. The program gives consumers the freedom to shop using the device or thing that is most convenient to them, with the highest level of security available.

The IoT is transforming the way consumers interact and transact. According to Cisco (News - Alert), there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020. MasterCard is establishing the program as the foundation to enable payments for IoT.

The program is an extension of the MasterCard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) and the Digital Enablement Express (Express) program, and brings to fruition the vision that every device will be a commerce device. Through MDES and Express, any accessory, wearable or device can be payment-enabled and quickly scaled to millions of MasterCard accounts.

"As more and more 'things' become connected, consumers will have endless possibilities when it comes to how they pay, and will need all of their devices to work seamlessly together," said Ed McLaughlin, Chief Emerging Payments Officer, MasterCard. "This program eliminates the boundaries of how we pay by delivering a secure digital payment experience to virtually anything - rings, fitness and smart bands, car key fobs, apparel, and whatever comes along next."

Technology and Issuer Partners
As part of the program, MasterCard worked with NXP and Qualcomm Incorporated to develop technology that makes it simple to enable secure payments on virtually any device or accessory.

Capital One is the first issuer to embrace the program and will leverage Express, enabling them to expand to a whole new category of devices. The Capital One Wallet will authenticate the users to provide strong security for provisioning and managing tokens. It also includes enhanced real time transaction notifications identifying the device used in each transaction. Capital One (News - Alert) is one of many issuers with tens of millions of MasterCard credit and debit accounts already participating in MDES.

The program will launch with the support of several partners across multiple verticals. Designer Adam Selman, automaker General Motors, wearable technology developer Nymi, smart jewelry company Ringly, and Bluetooth locator TrackR are among the consumer brands enabling their products through the program.

Exclusive designs from Adam Selman and prototypes from GM (key fob), Nymi (wristband) and Ringly (ring), have been on display at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas and are showcased in this video.

"We are always looking for new ways to enhance the consumer payment experience, by offering tools and pioneering technologies focused on ecommerce and mobile accessibility," said Tom Poole, Managing VP, Digital Payments, Capital One. "We are excited about the potential this new initiative and other new payment options hold as we work to offer more choices to help make our customers' lives easier."

The launch of the program puts in place a standard for expanding secure contactless and embedded payment options globally. Products will begin rolling out in 2016 in the U.S., with plans to expand to other markets.