NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 2, 2016 / Providing the platform technology to turn any wearable product, from clothing to accessories to watches, into a payment device is On Track Innovations (NASDAQ:OTIV). Backed by a robust patent portfolio in this emerging space, On Track Innovations (oti) offers the only all-in-one solution to enable any wearable product maker to get into the payments industry.
Contactless near field communications (NFC) technology enables a new way for consumers to pay for products, without cash or credit cards. While NFC enabled smartphone payments are becoming more widely used, consumers and companies alike are looking past payments via smartphones to the next big thing: fashion and accessories equipped with NFC technology as the new wallet. Rings, watches, cufflinks, bracelets, and clothes will become payment devices.
Major players in the emerging wearable payments market today are smartwatch makers like Apple (NASDAQ:APPL), Samsung (009150.KS) and Swatch (SWGAY), as well as fitness focused wearables makers like Jawbone and Fitbit (NYSE:FIT). Clearly, these are product-focused companies integrating payments into their wearable devices to make their devices more useful to the consumer. They are also likely increasing their recurring revenues by either taking a slice of each payment transaction, like a credit card company would, or by data mining purchasing behavior.
Neither smartwatch makers nor fitness wearables companies are likely to become providers of a broad technology platform for every other company that wants to compete with them for a slice of the wearable payments market.
There is plenty of motivation for apparel, accessory, and wearable gadget makers to get into the game. Research firm Tractica estimates transaction volume done through wearable payment devices will reach $500 billion annually by 2020. $20 billion worth of connected wearable devices will be sold in 2017, according to Goldman Sachs.
Gartner's wearable payments report states that product managers must understand who their customers are and how their products will be used. Payments is one major category that product managers across numerous industries are evaluating. Payment enabled products are more useful for the customer and they can increase revenues for product makers by tapping into the payments industry's recurring revenues.
oti has been in the cashless payments space for nearly two decades. As a result, the Company has one of the strongest IP positions in the cashless payments technologies with patents covering hardware, software, system and product infrastructure, NFC, contactless payments, and even product concepts. With patents filed around the world for its wearable payments inventions, oti has captured critical assets in the IP landscape of this new technology frontier. Other companies that cite oti's patents when filing their own patent applications include payments and electronics giants, Visa, American Express, and Panasonic.
oti invented PayEnable, the smallest payment card in the world. It can be integrated into any wearable device. The compact sized hardware fits in bracelets, key chains, necklaces, belts, cufflinks, buttons, and other accessories.
Designed for use in clothing, PayCapsule Flex is a flat, flexible and washable payment device that looks like a clothing label and can be made in customizable dimensions. It can be sewn into any article of clothing.
With these proprietary technology platforms and the company's well established global market infrastructure in cashless and mobile payments systems, oti is ready to deliver a turn–key solution for any clothing or accessory marker.
Just as Cisco is the largest provider of networking equipment providing IT infrastructure, oti is similarly positioned to be the largest provider of technology infrastructure for wearable payments. For every watch maker that is not Apple or Swatch, for every gadget maker that is not Fitbit or Jawbone, oti is the go-to provider for turn-key solutions that can turn their wearable item into a payment device. One can imagine apparel and accessory brands from Ralph Lauren, to Louis Vuitton, to the Gap lining up to get into this space using oti's platform.
I recently wrote about oti and am following the company closely. An operating company with a strong management team, global sales infrastructure and IP portfolio, oti appears to be on track to become profitable soon in its mainline business of cashless payments. I am watching closely for announcements from oti about their wearable payments products. It's a huge opportunity to catapult the company and its stock to a whole new level.
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About Ray Dirks
Ray Dirks came to Wall Street with Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 1963 where he was established as the leading insurance stock analyst dealing with institutional investors and high -net worth investors both in the U.S. and internationally.
In 1973 Ray uncovered the biggest Ponzi scheme of the 20th century, the Equity Funding fraud. Over the years Ray has expanded his stock market research to include Healthcare Stocks and Special Situations. Ray has written two books, "The Great Wall Street Scandal" and "Heads You Win, Tails You Win," published by McGraw-Hill and Bantam Books respectively. He continues to provide research to institutions and individuals, and he manages money for some individual investors.
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SOURCE: RAY DIRKS Research
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