Payment-processing platform Stripe announced a five-year contract with Ford Motor Company: an effort to revamp the automotive giant’s e-commerce strategy. Stripe will process customers’ vehicle orders and reservations, enable bundled financing for Ford’s commercial clients, and route these payments to corresponding Ford and Lincoln dealerships.

Why should we care?
In the long run, this deal symbolizes a renewed effort to create a financialized Internet of Things (IoT). Central to understanding Ford’s stake in the deal is its massive investment in electric vehicles and their infrastructure. By partnering with a processing giant like Stripe, the car company can design more seamless user experiences at charging stations or certified service centers, which lets customers pay for everyday services without taking out their wallet. At this juncture, that’s a unique selling point in favor of Ford as compared to other car brands. Beyond a modernized payment experience for Ford’s customers, this partnership also offers the automotive giant a potential uptick in sales through a buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) strategy. Given a surge of interest in Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric vehicle, the Stripe partnership may let the internet drive demand for the new model—and others like it moving forward—through a simplified payment and reservation process. “We’re coming out of the gate with reservations,” said James Dyett, Head of Global Product Sales and Payments Performance at Stripe. “You see the Ford F-150 Lightning [EV] online, or through an ad, or maybe you’ve heard about it through a friend.” In the coming years, it seems your car may become a wallet, too.