M2M

Commerzbank was already trialling blockchain-based machine-to-machine payments (between electric charging points and Daimler Trucks) back in 2019 and the 22 members of the newly formed Franco-German GAIA-X non-profit association that is developing common requirements for a pan-European data infrastructure (a platform for joining up cloud-hosting services so that business can move their data freely and protected under European privacy laws) able support IoT are already exploring what they call “Pay-per-Use Supply Chain Finance”. This is designed to address the increasing complexity of supply chains and to address the problems of liquidity bottlenecks that put the stability of the entire supply chain at risk. It does not take much imagination to see machines in smart factories (the global smart factory market is expected to double by 2025) negotiating across global supply networks and paying each free from credit risk.