Visa’s Payments Security Expands To IoT Companies

Visa is making a move to ensure Internet of Things offerings, ranging from wearables to cars, can embed secure Visa payments.

The global payments technology company announced Sunday (Feb. 21) that it will be expanding its Visa Ready program to include IoT manufacturers of wearables, automobiles, appliances, public transportation services, clothing and other connected devices.

“More and more, consumers are relying on smart appliances and connected devices to make their lives easier,” Jim McCarthy, EVP of innovation and strategic partnerships at Visa, stated in a press release. “By adding payments to these devices, we are turning virtually any Internet connection into a commerce experience — making secure payments seamless and, ultimately, more accessible to merchants and consumers.”

Visa Ready will bring together emerging IoT companies and mobile device manufacturers, including mPOS providers, NFC-enabled device-makers and other technology partners within the program.

Initial Visa Ready partners include Accenture, Coin, Giesecke & Devrient, Fit Pay and Samsung, who will focus on payments for wearables and automobiles and work with device manufacturers, including Chronos and Pebble.

All participants in Visa Ready will use the Visa Token Service security technology, which swaps out the sensitive information on payment cards with a unique digital identifier to safeguard payment data and account details.

“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,” said Anand Swaminathan, managing director of growth & strategy at Accenture Digital. “We lead a range of initiatives with contextual commerce capabilities that could integrate Visa Token Services. We are looking forward to seeing where else Visa Token Services will help make IoT-enabled payments easier for customers across any number of situations.”