8 CES inventions that fintechs should watch

January 8, 2020 11:11 AM

The annual Consumer Electronics Show, taking place in Las Vegas, is a showcase of bizarre and revolutionary new technologies — with a few providing glimpses into the future of fintech and payments.

Amid the assortment of tech toys, a few ideas are already in place to change the way people pay for home products, travel needs, and more. And the more futuristic the ideas, the more they require rebuilding the payment process from the ground up.

This story was compiled from reporting by PaymentsSource writers including John Adams, Kate Fitzgerald, David Heun, Michael Moeser and Daniel Wolfe.

A robot to control the robotic home

Hyun-Suk Kim, president and chief executive officer of Samsung Electronics Co., presents Ballie during a keynote at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. Every year during the second week of January nearly 200,000 people gather in Las Vegas for the tech industry's most-maligned, yet well-attended event: the consumer electronics show. Photographer: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg

Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg

It looks more like BB-8 from Star Wars than Rosie from The Jetsons, but Samsung's Ballie could be big for managing the home and keeping supplies stocked.

In a demo at CES, Samsung depicted Ballie controlling televisions, timers and robotic vacuums, but it's not hard to make the leap to the idea that it could replenish supplies when it detects the home is running low on staples such as dog food and detergent.

Such a move would echo Amazon's Dash products, which allowed users to reorder such supplies by pressing a button or scanning a bar code. Samsung's line of smart refrigerators is already built with the ability to order groceries.

A smart city, built from scratch

Akio Toyoda, president and chief executive officer of Toyota Motor Corp., speaks during a press event at CES 2020 event in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. Every year during the second week of January nearly 200,000 people gather in Las Vegas for the tech industry's most-maligned, yet well-attended event: the consumer electronics show. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Bloomberg News

Toyota's "Woven City," which it plans to start building by the end of 2021, will be designed from the ground up to accommodate technology such as autonomous vehicles.

The automaker's focus is on transportation rather than commerce, though one idea is to turn its vehicles into mobile retail spaces which move about or congregate in a plaza, The Verge reports.

Transportation projects are often an onramp to payments innovation. Passengers in driverless cars can spend time shopping if they don't need to focus on the road; and the cars themselves can be designed to pay for their own fuel and parking fees.

Alexa, pay for gas

Gas prices are displayed as cars drive past an Exxon Mobil Corp. station in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. Exxon Mobil Corp. is scheduled to release their fourth quarter earnings on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014. Exxon Mobil Corp. is scheduled to release earnings figures on Jan. 30. Photograper: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

Luke Sharett/Bloomberg

One doesn't need to wait to live in Toyota's transportation-focused city to start paying from a connected car. Amazon is starting the new year with a major payment technology deployment at more than 11,500 gas stations, providing the e-commerce giant with an added leg to its rapidly expanding payments network ranging from checkout-free stores to Whole Foods to its own planned grocery chain.

Amazon Pay is the mobile wallet for Alexa-enabled voice payments for Exxon and Mobil stations in the U.S., with the initial deployments coming later this year. Consumers will be able to say “Alexa, pay for gas” when pulling up to the pump. The payment information will be stored in the consumer’s Amazon account, with Fiserv providing the underlying processing technology.

Tech takes flight

Ed Bastian, chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines Inc., speaks during a keynote at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. Every year during the second week of January nearly 200,000 people gather in Las Vegas for the tech industry's most-maligned, yet well-attended event: the consumer electronics show. Photographer: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg

Bloomberg News

Delta is revamping its process for booking and boarding flights — and is partnering with Lyft to accomplish the same seamless experience ride-sharing apps have perfected for travel and payments.

Through the Lyft partnership, Delta will offer rewards for booking Lyft rides and enable the use of frequent flyer miles to pay for rides. The companies plan a deeper integration in the future, though Delta did not explain what that would mean, TechCrunch reports.

Delta plans other updates to its digital experience, mainly through its mobile app, to provide extra details such as the boarding times for specific boarding groups or the best checkpoint to use for security, the company's CEO Ed Bastian said in a CES keynote, according to the article.

Sprint's 'internet of payments'

The Sprint Corp. logo is reflected on a display inside a Sprint Corp. retail store in Glendale, California, U.S., on Monday, April 24, 2017. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

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Sprint is working with Wirecard to integrate payments into its internet of things platform, called Curiosity.

The project's focus will initially be on creating futuristic retail experiences, including a seamless payment process across channels and borders, the companies said.

Sprint and Wirecard were brought together by SoftBank Investment Advisers, and are targeting enterprises worldwide.

Beans on the blockchain

The IBM logo is displayed on a sign at the entrance to the IBM Research - Almaden facilities in San Jose, California, U.S., on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Rabobank and IBM are partnering on a technology project that uses QR codes on Beyers coffee cups to trace the coffee's supply chain from the farm to the retailer.

The initiative includes a blockchain-powered interactive map that identifies the farmers, traders, roasters and brands, along with payment processing. The blockchain will connect the payment to supply chain data. Other partners include the Columbina Coffee Growers Federation, J.M. Smucker, RGC Coffee and Volcafe.

The cups and app will launch in the U.S. and Canada, and IBM hopes to reach consumers who are interested in buying coffee that has been sustainably grown but reliant on a complicated international supply chain.

Toilet humor

The Procter and Gamble Co. (P&G), Charmin Rollbot is displayed during a press event at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020. The worlds biggest technology companies head to Las Vegas for the annual CES trade show, with even Apple making a rare official appearance. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Bloomberg News

Charmin has unveiled some bizarre gadgets that don't quite pass the sniff test.

Its Rollbot can deliver an extra roll of toilet paper to those in need of one; its SmellSense system lets prospective washroom users know when the air has cleared from the past user; and its V.I.Pee toilet has a VR headset to allow concertgoers to keep enjoying the show when they go, PC magazine reports.

While these devices aren't universally practical, they do showcase a potential demand for bringing digital commerce tech to the toilets. Amazon's Dash buttons, for example, allowed consumers to reorder toilet paper and cleaning products through a Wi-Fi button adhered somewhere in the bathroom, but Amazon shut down that function starting in March 2019.

Uber bets big on Vegas

Uber has long used its large user base and easy payment experience to offer related services.

Uber's foray into mass transit has extended to Las Vegas, where CES is taking place. The ride sharing provider and Masabi have launched transit ticketing for all Las Vegas transit systems.

For Uber, it's an opportunity to add service for consumers in a tourist-heavy city where it faces tough competition from other ride-sharing apps and a powerful local taxi industry. Transit is a good potential fit, since most travelers to Las Vegas probably lack knowledge of the local transit system.

Uber has made a similar deal with Denver's transit system. Masabi, a transit technology company with offices in New York and London, is also part of Uber's Denver transit project.