Invisible payments are all about consumer convenience, eliminating the need to wait in a queue, fumble for cash, cards or a mobile phone and remember a PIN. Ride-hailing app Uber is the most commonly used example: the passenger, on reaching their destination, just steps out of the car – the payment, embedded in the Uber app, happens almost as if by magic.
Of course, there is impressive technology running in the background. For example, the Amazon Go store – where items are automatically added to a consumer’s virtual card when taken off the shelf – uses computer vision, deep-learning algorithms and sensor fusion to power Amazon’s 'just walk out' technology. But, importantly, a customer does not need to consciously interact with any of these technologies for the payment to occur.
