Mobile wallets can make paying by credit or debit card seamless: tap your phone at checkout and you are on your way. But mobile wallets are just the beginning. Payment networks and manufacturers are building payment functions into more devices - expanding your options as well as freeing up your hands.
You could find yourself buying petrol from the dashboard of your car, groceries from your refrigerator door or dinner by flashing a smile. And you won't even need your phone with you to make purchases on the go.
More devices add payment capability
Payment options already available or on the horizon include:
Wearables
Connected "smart" accessories such as watches, bands and rings travel lighter than a phone. To use, the wearer holds a wrist or hand up to a contactless payment terminal. Visa tested these devices at the 2016 Rio Olympics to demonstrate possibilities, says Mark Jamison, global head of innovation and design at Visa.
The market will determine, he says, if fashion designers want to "embed payments into a ring or any other device." One company privately testing similar tech is Token, whose smart ring - which performs a variety of functions, from opening doors to paying for purchases - has a waiting list.
In 2017, payment capabilities branched out from Apple and Android smartwatches to some Fitbit and Garmin fitness devices, meaning more people could leave their phone behind while working out.
By the end of this year, Visa expects merchants to have tap-to-pay capability at 50 per cent of locations in the United States where face-to-face transactions take place.
Virtual assistants
When voice payments are enabled on virtual assistants like Amazon Echo and Google Home, you can multitask and take care of "errands" in the moment with verbal commands.
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Connected devices will become the norm
Consider the number of mobile applications with saved payment information on your mobile device. In the future, you could free up some data and save a little battery life by using other connected devices:
Cars
Visa and MasterCard are working with manufacturers to embed options in car models. Manufacturers are also testing ways to pay for petrol, groceries, takeout, metered parking and other things from screens on vehicle dashboards.
"It's still early, but we are focused on bringing that to life this year, to have the ability for you, as the driver, to not just order from one type of merchant," says Stephane Wyper, senior vice president of new commerce partnerships and commercialisation at MasterCard.
Appliances
Appliances will get smarter in the future. A glimpse of what's possible: Samsung's Family Hub refrigerator, which lets you order groceries from the Groceries by MasterCard app; Whirlpool's Smart Dishwasher, which when synced with an Amazon account, can estimate when you're low on detergent and order it automatically.
Your body
Going totally device free could also become an option. Biometric payments make it possible to pay by voice, face, iris scan or fingerprint. It's not a big stretch from the biometric authentication currently used by some phones or applications.
"The technology itself has been around for a while, but consumers were skeptical of it," Mr Jamison says. They have since become accustomed to authenticating using a fingerprint via phone, and their preference has shifted from user ID and password to biometrics, he says.
In January 2018, CaliBurger restaurants launched a pay-by-face pilot programme in Pasadena, California. Customers pay for their order by smiling for the camera and entering the three-digit number from the back of a credit card.
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More options with fewer passwords
Current devices, apps and websites generally each require a separate profile with payment details. In the future, you could keep payment information in one place and sync it to all devices.
In 2017, MasterCard launched Consumer Control in the US to offer consumers a central view of their cards across different channels. With access through their issuer, cardholders can add their cards to their favourite shopping websites and devices from one location.
The forecast for the future includes more convenient payment options. Visa estimates that 50 billion smart devices will be connected to the internet by 2020.
Merchants will not begin accepting payments from everything overnight; for certain devices it may take a few years. For now, you can start exploring the options outside of your mobile wallet.
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
West Indies v England ODI series:
West Indies squad: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.
Fixtures:
1st ODI - February 20, Bridgetown
2nd ODI - February 22, Bridgetown
3rd ODI - February 25, St George's
4th ODI - February 27, St George's
5th ODI - March 2, Gros Islet
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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