Imagine the warehouse of the future. Sleek racks of special trays hold products waiting to receive a consumer’s credit card. Foam inlays accommodate different sizes and types of items. Nearby, wearonize perso machines operating by gravity wait to begin their work as orders are processed. LED lights on smart trays begin blinking to life.
This is already the reality at Swatch’s global shipping center, where wearonize’s proprietary equipment and methodology enable a highly automated process for handling large volumes of payment-enabled products. The entire sequence is ruled by “smart” technology, starting with reading the chip inside a watch to create its “digital twin,” which will later be matched to its physical counterpart.
Every step of a watch’s journey is tracked, from smart storage that provides real-time stock information for ordering, to smart trays with LEDs that indicate which products are ready to be picked. Orders are verified before leaving the warehouse and customers are given a code to enter once their order arrives to confirm they have received the product specifically enabled for them, and it’s ready to use to make payments.
So, how did we get here?
No time to waste: the pressures of enabling wearables for payment
With so much innovation happening around us all the time, it’s easy to miss the struggle between idea and implementation. Producers who want to offer payment-enabled watches or fashion accessories (called passive wearables) face significant barriers, including resources needed for research, development, testing, certifications, and onboarding banks in all relevant markets. In addition, there have been practical issues related to form and function.
Swatch had already devised a solution, by offering a passive payment-enabled wearable that could be activated in its many stores at the point of purchase through the SwatchPAY! App. Integrating the new online activation solution from wearonize, Swatch enabled consumers to now conveniently load their payment cards as part of their online purchase. A solution that is helping to open SwatchPAY! to an even broader market.
Time waits for no one: how wearonize technology is shaping a new tomorrow
A number of producers have entered the market recently, recognizing the same potential for passive, payment-enabled wearables. The challenge continued to be providing a secure way to enable devices from the convenience of a customer’s home through an intuitive online experience.
Enter wearonize. In less than two years, this fintech startup has become a leading full-service partner for payment-enabled wearables. wearonize developed the ability to automate and highly parallelize the handling of passive, payment-enabled wearables sold through online or mobile channels, providing Visa or Mastercard payment capability without compromising security.
Swatch has partnered with wearonize to fully realize the potential of SwatchPAY! expansion efforts. wearonize provides a seamless web experience, guiding customers from their purchase with Swatch through the tokenization process on the wearonize backend.
And wearonize has another trick up its sleeve: handling on-site or offsite logistics via that “smart” warehouse setup. By ensuring the correct product arrives at the correct home, fully enabled for a customer to use, wearonize is helping Swatch propel the promise of payment-enabled wearables full-speed into the future.
