By 2025, according to current estimates, around 75 billion devices will be interconnected in the so-called Internet of Things (IoT). This mega trend will permanently change the industry and bring about new, innovative business models. In order to exploit the associated growth potential, suitable payments processes are necessary. Currently existing methods generally require human intervention; at least for authorisation. Micropayments are not economically realistic, and exhaustive real-time payments are not feasible. However, in order to really leverage the potential of the IoT, fully automated, autonomous payments solutions between machines, so-called M2M payments, must be possible.
In the medium to long term, the establishment of a DLT-based digital euro as a means of payment is therefore necessary: programmable payments could thus become a reality. Possible concepts, the underlying technologies and conceivable use cases are presented in the whitepaper "The future of payments: programmable payments in the IoT sector". It was created in a cooperation between CashOnLedger Technologies GmbH, the Digital Euro Association, the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center and PPI.