MasterCard has created technology with NXP and Qualcomm that will turn any “consumer gadget, accessory or wearable into a payment device”.

The payment company said that the trend to IoT would change “the way consumers interact and transact”.

On that basis, it created a program to equip any connected “thing” – such as wearables, jewellery or even connected clothing - with the ability to handle payments.

“As more and more ‘things’ become connected, consumers will have endless possibilities when it comes to how they pay, and will need all of their devices to work seamlessly together,” MasterCard’s chief emerging payments officer Ed McLaughlin said.

“This program eliminates the boundaries of how we pay by delivering a secure digital payment experience to virtually anything – rings, fitness and smart bands, car key fobs, apparel, and whatever comes along next.”

McLaughlin said the program “puts in place a standard for expanding secure contactless and embedded payment options globally”.

While products using the technology would first appear in the United States in 2016, MasterCard said it expects to “expand to other markets” worldwide.