Barclays’ contactless payment has made its way to watch straps after it was revealed this week that bPay is to be integrated into numerous fashion watch brands.
Building on the success of the Timex Fairfield Contactless watch, created in partnership with bPay last year, bPay and Timex will launch an expanded range of eight contactless-enabled watches in May, for both men and women.
GUESS Watches is also working with bPay to launch a range of six contactless watches. Wearable payment strap options in silicone and leather will be matched with GUESS best-sellers.
bPay’s venture with LBS, a watch strap supplier, will also bring additional reach and scale to wearable payments. Together, LBS and bPay are launching the ‘TapStrap’, a replacement strap that can be fitted to any watch with a 18mm, 20mm or 22mm strap.
Suunto, the Finnish manufacturer of sports watches, dive computers and sports instruments, will be broadening its offering for sports enthusiasts with a bPay-enhanced version of the Suunto 3 Fitness watch, launching later this spring.
Also launching are partnerships with Swiss watchmakers Mondaine alongside Kronaby, the Swedish manufacturer of hybrid watches and ADEXE Watches, manufacturer of classic lifestyle timepieces designed in London, all who are developing a range of payment-enabled watches with bPay seamlessly embedded into the strap.
To support production of these contactless-enabled products, bPay is working with Tappy, a License Visa Technology Partner and a Visa Vetted Vendor. Tappy’s production facilities are authorised to embed the bPay chip into bPay’s brand partners’ products.
