Smiling, Tony Sanches walked through the hotel lobby to the elevators and looked at the small screen. “Welcome Mr. Sanches. Room 612.” Tony looked up and winked at the camera. A quick ride up, a short stroll down the hallway, and the door to room 612 unlocked and swung open as he approached. A loud electric ‘wrumph’ told him the door had closed and locked behind him.

Later, enjoying the warm evening breeze at the rooftop bar, he looked out over Geneva as night settled in, city lights came on, and the distant mountains faded into the darkness. Tony knew that whatever he ordered was automatically charged to his room, as the bar’s cameras had already confirmed his identity. No fussing around with signatures on pieces of paper, needlessly repeating what everyone already knew.

He really enjoyed this new era of business travel; no more two-factor authentication in a gazillion apps on the phone when its battery was almost flat, no more plastic hotel room keycards that lose their coding, no more credit cards that can be stolen, and no more filling in the same information on check-in forms that you already submitted when you booked. Tomorrow evening, when checking out, he would just walk up to reception, look at the bill, press his thumb on the screen, and walk out to the waiting taxi that would take him to the station and his overnight train back home to Barcelona.

Privacy and tracking are still major issues, but trust and fraud have been solved by a small adjustment to payment systems’ business models and processes: No charge happens until you physically interact with the item or service you’ve ordered. A flight or hotel booking isn’t debited from your account until you check in – physically.

Online sales aren’t charged until you (or someone authorized by you) are physically present to receive the goods. Your physical presence is the ultimate proof of identification and as the booking and payment systems already have all your details, identification and authorization via facial recognition or fingerprints are seamless, fast, and secure!

“If they could only do away with passports and visas, that would be something,” Tony thought while dreading next week’s trip to India. “I need to find my old smartphone and activate all those darn apps again, just to prove I’m me!”

Get in touch

Companies are constantly looking for more data and insights into customer behaviour, while customers want more privacy and security, but also convenience. For more insights into the future of Consumer and Fintech innovations and businesses we have helped commercialize across the financial services landscape, please contact Futureworld partner Gottfried Rautenbach or Mindbullets editor Doug Vining.