Contactless payment accessories: from stickers to fitness trackers

We present our Wirex application as a mobile bank in a smartphone. Before our eyes, the payment industry is developing and expanding into other segments of wearable electronics. In the previous article, we looked at the clock with a built-in payment function. This article will discuss other wearable accessories that allow you to pay for purchases at points of sale.

Payment ring

Among the contactless payment jewelry stands out ring Kerv . The accessory is presented in red, yellow, green, black, white, blue and pink colors. The founders of high-tech jewelery raised funds for their project using the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform, which launched the campaign in October 2015. The accessory is made of waterproof plastic and does not require recharging. An NFC chip supporting the EMV standard is embedded in the Kerv ring. The technology allows you to make payments, bringing the accessory to the contactless reader.



The reader interacts with the ring in the same way as with a contactless card - the device recognizes the encrypted data on the NFC chip and confirms the operation. The funds are debited from the prepaid account of the user Kerv. A mobile application attached to a client account informs the user about expenses. The application Kerv set a limit on the amount of payment If the specified limit is exceeded, the application requests a PIN code.
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The functionality of the Kerv application involves setting up automatic account replenishment. And geolocation options allow you to specify a home region in which users can save on additional commissions. In addition to payments at points of sale, you can also pay for public transport and electronic door locks using the Kerv ring.

After the Kerv project managed to collect the necessary amount using crowdfunding, the developers opened on their official website the opportunity to pre-order contactless payment rings. Estimated retail price of the accessory will be around £ 50.

Cases, key rings and stickers

Last November, the British financial corporation Barclays joined forces with the Topshop chain of stores to launch a collection of payment accessories Topshop x bPay. The line combines Topshop design solutions (design in the form of the head of a fabulous fish, as well as stylization under the snake skin and metal) and contactless payment technology of the bPay standard from Barclaycard. The range includes:

• Bracelets
• Smartphone Cases,
• Stickers that can be stuck on accessories or gadgets,
• Key rings

A small bPay contactless chip is built into all devices. In addition to the Topshop x bPay accessories line, the Barclaycard subsidiary offers its users a series of their own wearable accessories: bracelets, a loop for watches or fitness trackers, a key chain and a sticker. For customers with families, there is a special offer - a set of accessories consisting of a payment bracelet, a sticker and a key fob.

Smart clothes

In cold weather, Barclaycard offers its customers woolen gloves with an integrated NFC chip. This approach allows you to keep your hands warm, and at low temperatures, this is its advantage over some other methods of identification.



bPay went beyond additional accessories by announcing a partnership with clothing manufacturer Lyle & Scott in the fall of 2015. The goal of cooperation is to present a jacket with a contactless payment chip embedded in the cuff of the right sleeve. According to the developers, the owner of such a piece of clothing gets the opportunity to pay for purchases of up to £ 30 at any of the 300,000 points of sale across the UK using his debit or credit card account. As of early September 2015, the cost of the jacket was 150 £ .



Samsung is also engaged in the direction of smart contactless garments. Among the developments of the Korean electronic giant is an NFC-suit , created in conjunction with the brand Rogatis. In addition to the ability to track the owner's pulse and capture his emotions, a smart piece of clothing allows you to pay for purchases using the built-in NFC-chip. At the same time there is no need to either get the phone or click on the screen of the smart watch. Using a smart suit, the user can also unlock the phone, switch between business cards and customize gadget configurations.

Bracelets and fitness trackers

In addition to its main purpose — to record the characteristics of the user's physical activity (for example, heart rate monitoring and automatic sleep phase detection), the Jawbone UP4 fitness tracker also has payment functionality. The wearable device is made of thermoplastic polyurethane and is presented in different colors. The device is associated with a mobile application in which users indicate their American Express card details. Only one AmEx card can be tied. The user passes the card verification process only once.



Only the AmEx cardholders can use the payment function using Jawbone UP4 so far and only in the USA at any point of sale where the terminal for receiving contactless payments is installed.

The Microsoft Band 2 bracelet also has limited payment functionality. The device is designed to track the physical status of the owner, but at the same time allows you to pay only for Starbucks coffee. To do this, you need to connect the Starbucks loyalty card using the bracelet interface, after which a bar code will appear on the device display, which you need to bring to the scanner at the cashier of Starbucks coffee shop for automatic debit. As in the case of Jawbone UP4, the payment functionality of Microsoft Band 2 is limited to the territory of the United States.

Another smart bracelet is the Nymi Band development project, which is also equipped with NFC technology. The device is positioned not only as a fitness tracker, but also as a means of identifying users by heart rhythm.

Bracelets that are less functional and designed for payments are introduced at Visa mass events. This spring, guests of Eurovision, held in Stockholm, could use contactless bracelets from the American payment giant and company specializing in digital security Gemalto. In the summer of contactless accessories from Visa were available to athletes who participated in the Olympic Games in Brazil.



Among Russian banks NFC-bracelets offers Alfa-Bank. A mini-tag mini map of Alfa-Bank is attached to the accessory. A mini-tag not exceeding the size of a SIM card is tied to an account of a client of Alfa-Bank who has issued a Next Next Youth Card. Bracelets are available in black, yellow and red colors.

Wearable Sticker

The body sticker is a separate class of payment accessories. Apparently, this type of contactless payment instrument is designed for those who do not want to burden themselves with unnecessary devices. A similar solution called WiSP (Wearable Interactive Stamp Platform) was presented by the medical technology company MC10 in partnership with PCH. WiSP - elastic sticker on the skin with an NFC-chip. The technology can be synchronized with other devices, thus allowing to determine the user's identity and then perform operations.

Payment manicure

An exotic solution was presented by Central Saint Martins College student of art, Lucy Davis. The girl has embedded in her nail an RFID chip tied to the Oyster London transport smart card. Davis took into account the color scheme of the original card in her acrylic patch manicure.

Forecasts

According to forecasts of the research company Juniper Research, the industry of smart wearable devices will develop rapidly in the coming years and by 2019 will be more than $ 53 billion. This means that in proportion to the market of wearable electronics, the volume of payments from smart accessories will also increase. Payment functionality becomes an integral element of smart wearable devices: from stickers and key rings to fitness trackers and watches.