100% for festivals, running, the beach, even poping to the corner shop.
I’d not take my phone or wallet to the corner shop for a pint of milk if I had a wrist band on all the time.
I’d sign up for this. Even it if meant paying a small fee upfront for the band …
My Apple Watch fits this use-case perfectly.
The lack of widespread online PIN support in the UK seriously hurts the usefulness of this, doesn’t it?
I’m not so sure. From the people I’ve chat to about this, the use case for a weatherproof payments wristband is more for festivals and events where you’re likely to be making smaller purchases for food and drinks (anywhere from £5 to £20 let’s say).
The wristband has additional benefits of being attached to you and more difficult to lose, drop, or steal than a traditional card.
I certainly don’t think this could replace the card for all situations but as an additional option, it has a use case.
As for smart watches, I possibly wouldn’t trust them to UK festivals.
I would love a wrist watch specific clamp. That could turn an old school watch into a watch that supports payment
Do you mean like:
or a fully integrated strap?
Exactly that!!!
Good point, it would be very useful in that setting!
I used to use one of those bPay things when they came out - (though I used the chip in a keyring, not as a wristband, but all the same).
It was really useful for those £30 transactions that contactless allowed; but once Mobile Pay options came out, I ended up never using the thing. Even more so now I have an Apple Watch with payment options.
It’s definitely valuable for scenarios like festivals, or places when you don’t have your device - but that’s so far and few between these days. I used to use one of those things multiple times a day - especially on the tube - but not so much any longer.
The idea is to have something affordable and pretty basic, without all the bloatware in a smartwatch. something like this: https://lykcard.com/waveband/
I would definitely be interested in something like this. Would be awesome if Monzo considers this, something like this: https://lykcard.com/waveband/