Barclaycard has been slowly releasing their new piece of wearable technology, the bPay band, a contactless card in the form of a wristband. However, the ambition for the product goes far beyond payments. Patrick Brusnahan investigates
With contactless payments and wearable technology being two of the quickest growing trends in finance today, Barclaycard has decided to merge the two in its new bPay band. It’s the only financial institution, bar Caixa Bank in Spain, to provide such an option.
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At the moment, Barclaycard are still learning about the product. Circulation has been limited, restricted to giveaways at specific events such as Pride London and British Summertime. In this early stage, however, reactions have been positive. This has provided encouragement ahead of a wider launch in early 2015.
Mike Saunders, managing director for digital consumer payments at Barclaycard, said: "The response has been excellent. A good barometer for what customers are saying is if you just search bPay on twitter. People are engaging with the product, using it consistently and getting comment when they use the product. It has given us quite a positive learning experience going into next year.
A considerate risk of launching products at one-time events is giving the impression of temporary or disposable. However, Saunders said that this was not a problem. Of the bands released during Pride London, over 90% of payments made by the band have been after the event.
While the initial idea was to give customers an added choice in payment and providing ‘convenience and ease’, this has shifted into something more. When releasing branded bPay bands for season tickets at Southampton Football Club, the device’s potential was discovered. There was a chance for this to be not only a payment option, but an accessory as well.
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By GlobalDataSaunders said: "We’ve seen a strong desire from customer to be able to personalise the product. Nobody, at the end of the day, wants to wear a product designed by a bank. People have taken the chip out and attached to a watch strap, they have coloured the band or added jewelled stickers onto them. Customers clearly want an opportunity to make it their own."
The challenge is making the band something that consumers choose to wear. As well as being open to personal customisation, Barclaycard are looking at making it more fashionable, talking to ‘major fashion houses’ about designing products to be released next year.
Ease of use is a key aspect of the band, but this brings up issues of security. If it is easy for the owner to use, it is easy for someone else to use as well. Saunders is not particularly worried about this side. He said: "In my mind, the security is no different to a credit or debit card. The chip technology is identical and so is the security. The band is even better because there’s no information on it. Unlike a standard card, there’s no number that someone could take."
The potential reaches even further. With the chip installed in the band, all aspects of daily life can be incorporated. In the near future, the technology is already being tested at Barclaycard offices, bPay could be used for any sort of contactless transaction, such as transport and access credentials. Transport for London has already incorporated bPay on their network and Saunders believes it could reach wider than that.
He said: "In theory, someone could buy a coffee, get on the tube, enter their office, get lunch, interact throughout the floors at work, go to the supermarket and grab a bus home without ever having to reach into their pockets. It’s just a question of identifying the right time to implement that. Hopefully, we can break the market next year."
Other wearable payment devices on the market
Rings
NFC Ring and Smarty Ring are developing jewelry with wireless hardware built-in. Though the devices are in their infancy, some are already exploring their potential to make contactless payments
Smartwatches
Some smartwatches, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, use NFC chips to pair the watch with a user’s phone. Galaxy Gear doesn’t yet use NFC for payments, but it supports mobile commerce through apps. Apple and Google are also rumored to be developing their own smartwatches.
‘Ordinary’ Watches
Another approach to the payments watch comes from Watch2Pay. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of a full-featured smartwatch, but it comes with a full-featured prepaid card that supports direct deposit, ATM withdrawals, mobile account access, bill payments and alerts.
Google Glass
Though still in limited release, Google Glass has turned heads at many payment companies. MasterCard is working to combine Google Glass with its MasterPass digital wallet.LevelUp, ZooZ and shopkick are also eyeing Google Glass for its payments potential. And RedBottle Design has already created a Google Glass app that allows users to spend bitcoins.
Clip-on NFC
Motorola now distributes Skip, a magnetic NFC clip meant to stick to users’ clothing. Right now the technology can be used to unlock some Motorola phones, but if it takes off, an NFC-embedded clip could see wider use in the payments industry and beyond.
