Invisible Banking: Succeeding with "Invisible Financial Services"

This article presents content originally published in "Design Mind," a design journal operated by frog, under the supervision of Mr. Noriaki Okada of Dentsu BX Creative Center.

What exactly is wearable payment that enables seamless and stylish enjoyment of resorts and games?

Consumer expectations regarding the experiences they can gain from products and services have been steadily rising in recent years. Not only has making payment services seamless and "frictionless" become standard practice for winning consumer loyalty, but social and cultural factors are also increasingly driving momentum for seamless payments.

frog has partnered with JPMorgan, one of the world's leading financial services companies, to compile concepts for payment ecosystem innovation aimed at businesses seeking to expand opportunities in the wearable payment device sector.

<Table of Contents>

▼Payment Actions Embedded in Every Aspect of the Customer Journey

▼Payment Devices as "Accessories" Create a New Category

▼Why Wearable Payment Devices Matter in the "RGE" Industry

▼Three Creative Concepts for Wearable Payment Devices

▼The Dawn of the Invisible Banking Revolution

The act of "payment" integrated into every aspect of the customer journey

As technological progress accelerates to meet rising consumer expectations, now may be a good time to reflect on the evolution of payment services thus far. For example, credit cards have seen remarkable proliferation over the past few decades. Yet the physical card itself has remained unchanged.

People's focus was on what they could obtain through credit cards. This led to the emergence of top-tier titanium cards and an era where cards were seen as keys to unlocking a VIP lifestyle.

frog is collaborating with multiple partners on various initiatives to drive market growth and lead consumer-centric transformation. One such effort, explored through our collaboration with JPMorgan, is payment services enabled by invisible banking—a concept now gradually gaining traction.

Companies across all industries must shift their perspective on payments. Rather than viewing them solely as transactions, they must recognize that payment actions are woven into every aspect of the customer journey.

To achieve this, we must envision and develop a large ecosystem spanning diverse industries, from automotive to healthcare, leveraging a suite of technologies and capabilities that demonstrate the potential of payment services beyond current expectations. Eventually, a trend will emerge where all companies seamlessly integrate all financial services, including their own payment services, making every process experienced by users more "frictionless." However, this alone is not sufficient to achieve success in invisible banking.

Payment devices as "accessories" are becoming a new category

A new generation of digital banking, befitting this era where technology and fashion converge, will soon emerge and permeate daily life. Payment devices as "accessories" are already becoming a new category of smart devices. Highly sophisticated rings, bracelets, and necklaces are being developed—featuring thoughtful design and capable of meeting diverse needs that current smartwatches and smartphones cannot fulfill (and which are entirely different from anything seen before).

We expect to see more companies jointly developing these technology-driven lifestyle accessories. To lead this trend, differentiation will require balancing simplified user experience with intuitive appeal.

As part of our ongoing collaboration with JPMorgan, frog has explored developing prototypes for wearable payment devices that accelerate innovation, unlock new experiences, and spark our clients' imagination.

The initial target is the Resort, Gaming, and Entertainment (RGE) industry—where enjoying the " " is considered a luxury.

Why is a wearable payment device needed in the RGE industry?

Services in the RGE industry center around physical experiences that feel enchanted. However, being constantly connected to the outside world (and sometimes interrupted) can diminish that magic.

What if you could access every RGE service and experience while keeping your smartphone in your pocket or even left in your room? What if the hassles of living in the moment were reduced, allowing you to enjoy the RGE world in real time?

The customer journey at resorts is increasingly digitized to eliminate friction at every touchpoint—from concierge check-in and guest engagement, to digital ID verification, room access, event participation, and of course shopping and spa experiences.

Many properties with casinos are rapidly advancing cashless systems on casino floors to eliminate barriers for guests enjoying the casino.

The concept model for the wearable device frog and JPMorgan aim to develop is called the "U-Ring," a discreet resin digital wallet. It was designed as an item that allows RGE companies, JPMorgan's clients, to perfectly merge the physical and digital worlds and achieve differentiation. It enables them to easily provide customer experiences that enhance brand loyalty across various scenarios within their respective ecosystems.

The frog team considered the key points of the wearable device as follows:

• It must be offered as a comprehensive experience encompassing the user's actual experience, along with the time spent on self-expression and enjoyment associated with it.
• It must be something never before seen in this field.

U-Ring is an all-in-one wearable device that offers special value and elegant sophistication, surpassing key cards, super apps, and credit cards.

Three Creative Concepts for Wearable Payment Devices

Leveraging deep insights into wearable devices and invisible banking, frog and JPMorgan distilled the creative concepts for wearable payment devices into three key points.

These somewhat abstract concepts can serve as inspiration for companies across various industries—financial services, entertainment, fashion, and more—as they prepare for the dramatic changes ahead.

1.Design Follows Emotion

This concept evokes frog's founding slogan, "Design follows function." But it's time to forget that phrase. Through their collaboration, frog founder Hartmut Esslinger and Steve Jobs came to share the belief that innovation isn't primarily about major functional changes, but rather about profound shifts in the emotions consumers feel toward products, services, and the experiences surrounding them.

This beautifully designed wearable device, a physical embodiment of a digital wallet, provides users with the reassurance of connecting to a tangible object. This accessory, more suited to Milan than Wall Street, is subtly charming. It incorporates Near Field Communication (NFC), a fingerprint reader, and cashless payment technology (from providers like Sightline, backed by J.P. Morgan), enabling direct and secure payments during resort stays. It delivers a completely new payment experience while performing actions users already do daily.

2.Solutions for the Experience

Companies across industries must integrate services that leverage next-generation technology into more diverse experiences, satisfying consumers' emotional needs while pursuing profit.

Cultural indicators suggest that enjoying the "here and now" represents a new form of luxury. Consumers are perpetually connected (to the internet), constantly compelled to be aware of something, and inevitably confronted with their status in every situation.

People expect high-end experiences during resort stays, investing time, money, and energy without hesitation. Resort operators must strive to create fresh, unexpected experiences that prompt users to behave differently, offering greater and more measurable benefits. This ultimately leads to differentiation from competitors, turning guests into repeat visitors who recommend the resort to others.

3.Anticipating Change and Responding to It

Collaborating with partners to drive innovation provides the shared vision and courage needed to uncover areas with untapped needs and opportunities, sparking transformative changes that reshape the industry.

Combining the unique strengths of multiple companies enables tackling challenges, achieving strategic scale, and driving adoption across many players in the industry, including competitors.

Beneath the various aspects of the expanding RGE culture, which emphasizes the "here and now," lies a desire among consumers to enjoy the same benefits of a connected lifestyle they already experience.

As is often the case when new technologies emerge that transform consumer behavior and generate immense business value, the first step is to meet the needs of a small, influential segment—much like VIP players making high-stakes bets at a casino—who actively embrace the new. By overcoming the barriers— —that must be crossed before new technology can gain widespread market adoption, they pave the way for broader mainstream adoption.

The Dawn of the Invisible Banking Revolution

The RGE industry is just one of many sectors impacted by the Invisible Banking Revolution. As new technologies begin adoption by pioneering companies, broader applications of such creative concepts are now being explored across healthcare, construction, virtual goods industries, and beyond.

frog and JPMorgan are exploring the potential of these wearable devices to open new frontiers, enhancing their presence as leaders in B2B2C innovation and collaborating with more partners to build the future of payment services.

This article is also published in the web magazine "AXIS".