Imagine a future where you walk into a store, pick out the items you want to buy, put them in your shopping cart, and then just walk out of the store when you are done – no billing counters queues and no checkouts. This can be made possible by an array of technology innovations such as sensors, beacons, IoT devices, and a lot of innovative software. Interestingly, the future is already here, at least in some places – Amazon Go and Alibaba are already offering this experience.
Let’s go back a little bit. The first wave of digital commerce began with digital and mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, which allowed users to make payments[1] using a mobile phone or a device. But the user has to initiate the transaction and complete a couple of steps.
The second wave started when Uber introduced invisible payments to its app. It became evident that the most convenient payment system is one where a consumer doesn’t even have to do anything. As long as the payment process is secure and the amount is correct, no one really likes to punch in those credit card numbers (CNP) or PINs (CP). Hence the ability to provide seamless transactions is fast becoming a norm. For instance, at Wagamama, a restaurant chain in the UK, after customers are done with their meal, they no longer need to wait for the bill – they can simply walk out of the restaurant and the bill will be settled seamlessly. The restaurant has rolled out the Wagamamago app[2] which lets customers pay and tip within the app directly thereby eliminating
