Technology Magazine August 2020 | Page 63

“ One of the principle ways through which we interact with the cities of tomorrow will necessarily be through payment solutions ”

Fidel , then , took a previously opaque and arcane system and made it far easier for companies to access and innovate with . It ’ s an ambition that meshes with the guiding principles behind making cities smart , and one of the principle ways through which we interact with the cities of tomorrow will necessarily be through payment solutions .
It ’ s an area that Subatra believes is ripe for disruption by APIs such as Fidel ’ s . “ The smart cities of the future will be enabled by API , and in particular multiple APIs working together . Your
fridge , for instance , might know when your milk is running out . That could alert another system which in turn could be connected into a payment API that has access to your card . That could then place an order for delivery , and you ’ d have your milk refilled without having to do anything . Or you might be driving your electric car to be charged and once done you can just drive off , with them easily knowing which car it was , how much electricity it used , and how much it cost .”
Subatra sees the interconnectedness of tomorrow ’ s systems as necessitating APIs which are able to smooth the communication of different devices . Expect APIs to bring a new level of connectivity to the established and outdated modes we take for granted .
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