Before now, wearable devices were mostly focused on showing fitness metrics and displaying notifications from your phone. This meant that people who aren’t really big on fitness numbers had very little use for them. Why would you need a wearable to read your phone notifications when you have the phone with you most of the time right?
All of that has changed now as wearable technology now targets an important facet of human life, payments. Wearable payment technology allows you to visit all those online and offline shopping sites, and even PayPal casino sites and make payments without pulling out your debit or credit card. This piece takes a look at some of the best examples of these devices.
Jawbone UP4
This is Jawbone’s first product that offers mobile payment capabilities. Choosing this product gives you all the capabilities of its predecessor the UP3. You will however be able to make payments anywhere American Express is accepted. Your American Express card is authenticated using the Jawbone app and all you will need to do is swipe your wrist to make payments. The wearable works with or without your phone.
Apple Watch
The Apple Watch doesn’t need any introduction. It has been in our faces since launch and its expansion into more climes has led to more increase in popularity. Using the apple pay involves setting up your debit cards and smart cards and verifying your identity. Once this is sorted, you can start making payments by simply flicking your wrist. The Apple Watch payment solution has grown in popularity due to the sheer number of financial institutions that support it. This is definitely a part of the reasonable gadgets to have as an iPhone owner.
Samsung Gear S2
Samsung launched their Samsung Pay service a while back and it was only natural for them to follow up with a wearable. This is how the Gear S2 was born. It only takes one experience to see that it is the best smartwatch from them. That shouldn’t come as surprise as they were bound to get it right at some point. The watch features a smart rotating bezel and an integrated NFC chip that allows payments to be made on the go. The S2 can be paired with most new Android phones and here is talk of iOS support in future.
bPay Band
bPay is an app developed by Barclays Bank which allows anyone to register a card from any bank of their choice. The bPay Band is the accompaniment which allows you to make payments at hundreds of thousands of retailers that support the payment solution. However, this band is not practical for some people as it can only work in addition to a smartwatch.
Alibaba Pay Watch
FiiSmart wearable and Alibaba went into partnership in this foray into the wearable payments niche. You will not need this one anytime soon unless you are headed for Asia very soon. However, as more Asian companies are pushing into Europe and the US, it may not be too long until you need one. The watch is built on the YunOS which is basically a customised version of Android. The payment system it supports caters for 900 million users so this isn’t just another wearable payment technology.
With these wearable technologies, payments are faster and more convenient. Which one should you go for? This should be determined by practicality.
