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 entering other segments of wearable electronics. In the previous article, we examined a watch 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, the Kerv ring stands out . The accessory is presented in red, yellow, green, black, white, blue and pink colors. The founders of technological jewelry 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 built into the Kerv ring. The technology allows you to make payments by bringing the accessory to a contactless reader.



The reader interacts with the ring in the same way as with a contactless card - the device recognizes encrypted data on the NFC chip and confirms the operation. Funds are debited from Kerv’s prepaid account. A mobile application tied to a client account informs the user of the costs. Kerv has a payment limit. If the specified limit is exceeded, the application asks for a PIN code.



The functionality of the Kerv application involves setting up an automatic top-up. And geolocation options allow you to specify the home region in which users can save on additional fees. In addition to payments at points of sale, using the Kerv ring you can also pay for public transport and open electronic door locks.

After the Kerv project managed to raise the necessary amount through crowdfunding, the developers opened the opportunity for pre-ordering contactless payment rings on their official website. The estimated retail price of the accessory is about £ 50.

Covers, trinkets and stickers

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

• Bracelets
• Smartphone Cases,
• Stickers that you can stick on accessories or gadgets,
• Trinkets.

All devices have a small, non-contact bPay chip. In addition to the Topshop x bPay line of accessories, 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, sticker and keyring.

Smart Garments

In cold weather, Barclaycard invites its customers to use 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 identification methods.



bPay went further than optional accessories by announcing a partnership with clothing manufacturer Lyle & Scott in the fall of 2015. The purpose of cooperation is to present a jacket with a contactless payment chip integrated in the cuffs of the right sleeve. According to the developers, the owner of such an item of clothing gets the opportunity to pay up to £ 30 at any of 300,000 points of sale throughout the UK using his debit or credit card account. As of early September 2015, the cost of a jacket was £ 150 .



Samsung is also involved in smart contactless clothing. Among the developments of the Korean electronic giant there is an NFC suitco-created with the Rogatis brand. In addition to the ability to track the owner’s pulse and capture his emotions, a smart wardrobe item allows you to pay for purchases using the built-in NFC chip. In this case, there is no need to either get out the phone or press the screen of a smart watch. Using a smart suit, the user can also unlock the phone, switch between business cards and configure gadget configurations.

Bracelets & Fitness Trackers

In addition to its main purpose - fixing the characteristics of the user's physical activity (for example, monitoring heart rate and automatically detecting sleep phases), the Jawbone UP4 fitness tracker also has built-in 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 the details of their American Express card. Only one AmEx card can be linked. The user goes through the card verification process only once.



So far, only AmEx cardholders can use the payment function using Jawbone UP4 and only in the USA - at any point of sale in which a terminal for accepting contactless payments is installed.

The Microsoft Band 2 bracelet also has limited payment functionality. The device is designed to track the physical condition of the owner, but it only allows you to pay for coffee at Starbucks. To do this, you need to connect a Starbucks loyalty card using the interface of the bracelet, after which a bar code will appear on the device’s display, which must be brought to the scanner at the cash desk of the Starbucks coffee shop for automatic debit. As with Jawbone UP4, the payment functionality of Microsoft Band 2 is limited to 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 rate.

He implements less functional and payment wristbands at Visa public events. This spring, guests of Eurovision in Stockholm could use contactless wristbands from the American payment giant and a company specializing in digital security Gemalto . In the summer, Visa contactless accessories were available to athletes participating in the Brazilian Olympic Games.



Among Russian banks, NFC bracelets are offered by Alfa-Bank. A smaller mini-tag Alfa-Bank card is attached to the accessory. The mini-tag SIM-card, not exceeding in size, is tied to the account of Alfa-Bank's client who has issued the Next youth card. Bracelets are available in black, yellow and red.

Body 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 introduced by the medical technology company MC10 in partnership with PCH. WiSP is an elastic skin sticker with an NFC chip. The technology can be synchronized with other devices, thus allowing to determine the identity of the user and then perform operations.

Billing manicure

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

Forecasts

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