Marisa Bianchi
Mastercard
and Accenture recently collaborated to launch the “IoT Commerce Framework” – a two-pronged white paperseriesoutlining key capabilities needed to conduct consistent and secure digital payment experiences with virtually anything.Part oneof the series highlighted the need for a streamlined approach to devices, consumers and merchants, transactions, and enablement and management.
Inpart two, we expand on four additional and equally critical components necessary to build out a successful IoT commerce ecosystem, including:
Loyalty & Rewards
If integrated properly, loyalty and rewards will help users trust their connected devices and understand the value of intelligent commerce at large. From the wearable device that prompts a runner to grab a free water bottle at a nearby store, to the connected car that autonomously activates a discount coupon from a local gas station based on brand loyalty, the possibilities are endless. However, hardware manufacturers, software integrators, commerce platforms, payment providers and merchants will have to champion their offerings while collaborating with one another in this space. Once these playerscan agree upon an ecosystem that ensures an overall safe and seamless process to drive loyalty behaviors, loyalty itself will become a key component to IoT.
Technology
Along with the convenience, control and commerce that comes with IoT, the technological systems and processes behind them must also adapt accordingly. Think about it – core payments processing, customer relationship management, fraud prevention and detection, and the exponential growth of data are complex and critical factors to commercebeforeadding connected devices to the mix. But, with thoughtful considerationand a shared set of standards to serve as guardrails, we can look forward to a successful IoT commerce ecosystem.
Organisational Structure
Connected commerce has the potential to deliver huge gains in efficiency, and organizations should develop an enterprise-wide strategy for integrating into IoT. Doing so eliminates security vulnerabilities, insufficient connected device support and duplicate IoT commerce solutions that might otherwise go unnoticed for quite some time. These barriers to success are avoidable by receiving input from business units across a company to measure corporate strategies against IoT strategies. From here, companies can develop roadmaps that devote resources to high priority projects involving IoT commerce, balancing risk and funding along the way.
Ongoing Regulatory & Governance
As we see it, IoT commerce should be three things – safe, secure and smart. Although IoT commerce has not yet been regulated, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Standards and Technology each recently published guidance on securing IoT from a regulatory lens. Theirwillingness to provide direction makes sense – as devices become increasingly intelligent, voice-controlled and less within actual physical grasp, security becomes paramount. For example, new authentication forms such as biometric methods including voice, thumbprints, facial recognition and others m ust be held to the same standard as traditional methods. And, as consumers store payment credentials on a number of devices beyond their smartphones, they will need clarity on who is responsible for safeguarding this information
Mastercard and Accenture have laid out these framework principles as guidelines to further the discussion on driving standardization in IoT commerce. To learn more, readpart oneandpart two of the full-length whitepaper series for more information.
