Vodafone Group and Sumitomo Corporation’s JV Pairpoint combined with Mastercard to introduce a machine-to-machine (M2M) autonomous payments system for the logistics industry, which will be available in UK later this year before expanding elsewhere in Europe.

The new technology will integrate Pairpoint’s platform with Mastercard’s global payment processing system Mastercard Gateway to authorise transactions made between vehicles and other machines. It is being targeted at fleet, freight, shipping and logistics operators.

Using the system vehicles will be able to make direct payments at designated charging or fuel stations, and freight companies can enable pre-approved transactions along a route, including port storage or terminal handling fees.

Pairpoint-enabled devices will be assigned digital identities within their SIMs to enable interaction with other “permissioned devices” via the platform.

The autonomous payments service will be accessible to all operators and support payment credentials running on across all major card networks, the partners noted.

Pairpoint CEO Jorge Bento said the technology “can offer customers a secure, yet simple way, to authorise their machines to make online transactions whilst generating new growth opportunities”.