Wirecard’s unified commerce technology is being integrated into Sprint’s Curiosity IoT platform to deliver the internet of payments, initially targeting the retail sector.

US telco Sprint and German financial technology company Wirecard made the announcement at this month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The two companies, brought together by SoftBank Investment Advisers, are collaborating to embed payment capabilities in IoT deployments, bringing added value to enterprise clients on a global scale.

Sprint’s Curiosity IoT platform helps enterprises manage and secure IoT devices and connectivity. The platform combines Curiosity Core, a dedicated, distributed and virtualised IoT network, with Curiosity OS, an integrated IoT operating system, to bring networks to data collection sites and enable the future of commerce.

Worldwide IoT market revenue reached $212bn in 2019, with worldwide expenditure projected to reach $1tn by 2022. Total worldwide IoT connected devices are projected to reach 75.44 billion by 2025, a fivefold increase from 2015.

Wirecard unified commerce products drive the digital transformation of retail by delivering a seamless payment experience across channels and beyond borders. Sprint is integrating these capabilities into Curiosity IoT, and the companies are jointly exploring opportunities across various market segments as part of a broader collaboration.

“We’re pleased to integrate Wirecard into our robust IoT platform,” said Ivo Rook, senior vice president for Sprint. “This opens up many commercial opportunities, and also delivers an unparalleled commerce solution for our global clients and their customers. As IoT becomes even more central to how enterprises run, we look forward to identifying new opportunities and use cases for these technologies. The growing internet of things will lead to new and innovative transactions, like directly between devices, and this collaboration will power such use cases.”

Sprint and Wirecard will initially focus on the retail segment, in which they are working to define and deliver the retail experience of the future, across all channels, with a unified commerce approach. The joint capabilities enable merchants to meet current and future customer expectations with an intelligent, connected buying experience.

“Collaborating with Sprint is a tremendous opportunity to expand our collective reach and capabilities, plus meet a growing demand for commerce without barriers,” said Georg von Waldenfels, executive vice president at Wirecard. “Adding Wirecard unified commerce solutions to Sprint’s game-changing IoT technology is a significant step towards developing the shopping experience of the future and we look forward to all the possibilities this cooperation offers us.”