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Does Matter matter? As a matter of fact, it does. Matter is an interoperability standard that enables Internet of Things (IoT) devices to talk with each other. Up until now, IoT products operated on their own specific platforms and standards, which meant Amazon IoT products worked with Alexa, “Alexa turn the lights on,” but if you had another smart device using a different standard, then Alexa could not help you. That limitation takes the convenience and efficiency aspects of IoT’s value proposition away. Having to use multiple apps to manage multiple devices is confusing.

For example, the Samsung refrigerator that can tell you what groceries to order is efficient and convenient, but a voice-enabled assistant cannot read the list to you. Without the refrigerator manufacturer’s app, that functionality is just a non-usable expensive add-on. But the Matter standard enables the user to take advantage of each Matter-enabled IoT device’s features. Matter-enabled devices can “connect” with each other over Wi-fi and Ethernet. And with a Matter controller, that group of connected devices can access the Internet. Alexa can actually read the recommended grocery list to you.

The above example should have clued you into another HUGE Matter advantage. Matter-enabled devices are platform agnostic. Devices built by Google and Apple can talk to each other! Major technology companies are behind the initiative, including Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung SmartThings. They realize that there is more likelihood of increased sales in an open system. Closed systems require the consumer to select a manufacturer and purchase devices that work on that specific platform. This creates friction for consumers who want to use IoT but are confused about what devices are supported on the different platforms. Fear not, Matter-enabled devices can connect regardless of manufacturer, and they will sport a unique label to point that out. With the major technology companies supporting Matter, consumers do not have to worry if they purchased the right device. You may be wondering how these interconnect devices will be controlled. What happens if you switch from iOS to Android? It doesn’t matter. Both operating systems will be able to control Matter-enabled devices.

But what if Matter-enabled IoT devices had increased storage capacity, could capture, and retain user information, access information provided by the user (payments sources, for example) and pass that information into an organization’s cloud environment? If you think that sounds farfetched, take a look at Amazon Sidewalk and Amazon Web Services. Part of our equation has been solved. Let’s take a look at four forward-thinking use cases for this technology.

Let us discuss financial services. Up until now, wearable devices have been viewed as innovative, with the potential to increase the efficiency of payments, but their actual application has had minimal adoption. But a Matter-enabled wearable device and Matter-enabled point-of-sale terminal will redefine the speed of the contactless payment experience. There is no need to place a card or a phone with a digital wallet over the POS terminal. And there has been much discussion about “in-car payments.” That is the ability to pay for something without rolling down the window and presenting an actual card. For example, think about paying for fast food. The only wait you will have is while they are bagging the food. The Matter-enabled device in the car will connect with the Matter-enabled payment terminal. Customers will no longer feel tension due to cars being stacked up in the “fast food lane.” Making a payment at a parking meter is another great example. With one of the hottest summers on record, the ability to make a payment without rolling down the car window is a “cool” experience.

Matter-enabled devices will improve data analytics. IoT devices can capture massive amounts of data about your shopping behavior: where you purchased, what you purchased, what time you shopped, and how you paid for the purchase. A data and an analytics engine in the cloud can be used to personalize financial services. Consider how analytics, insights, and offers work today: the raw transaction data must be cleansed and categorized, then run through an analytics engine to create insights that serve up offers. The offers, however, are reactionary because they are based on historical (outdated) data. With IoT, real-time data can continuously be sent, immediately analyzed, and present personalized offers.

One other use case is business taxes. IoT devices can capture the information necessary for itemized deductions and instantaneously pass it to the bookkeeping software. By the time the CPA begins to prepare the taxes, all the itemized transactions are available. The business owner does not need to comb through receipts or credit card statements, eliminating the frustration felt by many during tax preparation.

Wearable Matter-enabled IoT devices can be used to conduct local, national, and international commerce (remember they are connected to the cloud in our example). That means personalized offers may be different based on geography. For example, an offer made to an international business traveler will be different than an offer made to a local consumer. And, due to the real-time analytics power of the IoT system, those personalized offers may vary based on where the business traveler is located. The future of marketing will be creating “on-the-fly” offers based on rules. There will no longer be targeted lists. And those rules will function much in the same way a fraud detection system does today. As a user’s transaction (including payments) behavior changes, the rules will be modified automatically. Marketing offers (campaigns) will need to be created quickly based on the modified rules and pushed out as personalized offers. One could envision a marketing system with hundreds of rules-based campaigns. And this may be yet another use case for AI.

With the Matter interoperability standard, IoT may finally realize its true potential. Since the devices can connect and pass information to each other, a user’s financial profile will continuously be updated. Users will no longer have to manage and monitor their financial affairs. By replacing historical data with real-time data, the capabilities of financial management systems will be vastly improved. Financial Management will move from information and recommendations based on historical data to real-time decisions and actions that will optimize financial outcomes. Isn’t that the end goal of proper financial management? Matter will matter.