Swatch has announced that it has partnered with Visa to enable contactless payments in the US, Switzerland and Brazil using the Swiss watchmaker’s upcoming Bellamy timepiece when it launches early next year.
The company showed off the NFC-equipped Bellamy wristwatch in China back in October, with a sticker price of 580 yuan (US$91). It’s also set to roll out in China in the coming months.
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Swatch says that ‘pay-by-the-wrist’ transactions require absolutely no energy from the watch itself, so the Bellamy will offer the same battery life as the company’s other products.
That sounds like an exciting proposition for watch wearers. Of the current crop of smartwatches, Android Wear-based devices don’t support NFC-based payment functionality. The Apple Watch and Samsung’s Tizen OS-based Gear S2 are exceptions; however, they all suffer from poor battery life.
It’ll be interesting to see if Swatch and other watchmakers begin integrating NFC-based payment functionality into more traditional watches ahead of wearable manufacturers.
➤ Swatch partners with Visa for pay-by-the-wrist contactless payments [Swatch Group]
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