It is well understood that payments are a critical facilitator for practical realization of smart city and general IoT vision. Digital payments can improve payments ecosystem across public sector departments overseeing electricity consumption, water usage, sewer cleaning, trash collection and recycling, toll & transit, parking, tourists attractions, healthcare, municipalities, prisons, etc. All of which are important public service units necessary for cities to become self-sufficient.

It has also been established in 2020, that digital payment ecosystem got a major boost due to the pandemic. According to Statista, total transaction value in the digital payments segment is projected to reach US $4,934,741 million by the end of 2020 and total transaction value is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2024) of 13.4% resulting in a projected total amount of US $8,170,406 million by 2024. Further, contactless payments, a type of digital payment is very well positioned to bridge Internet of Things (IoT), and hence smart cities to Financial Services.