You don’t want to carry your smartphone everywhere and invest in a smart watch that offers contactless payments? Perhaps you’ll be interested in a new offer from Polar, which is introducing a watch strap that will make every model from the manufacturer’s offer gain payment functions.
Contactless payments are nothing new. Plastic cards, smartphones, smartwatches. You can choose from a wide range of options. Just bring it close to the terminal and it’s paid. But what if we don’t have this type of equipment or simply don’t want to invest in a smartphone with payments (although this is almost standard) or we love our watch and don’t want to give it up? Companies offering various types of wearable accessories that we can use for additional purposes and use as a payment method are coming to the rescue. Another category of this type of accessory is now joining the various bracelets and rings – a watch strap from Polar.
Polar is best known for its fitness trackers, including sports watches, fitness bands, and heart rate monitors. Since its founding in 1977, it has introduced a number of innovations, including the world’s first wearable heart rate monitor. Polar products, such as the Grit X watch, offer advanced health and training monitoring features, including GPS and wrist-based heart rate measurement. The company is constantly investing in new technologies and maintaining its position as an industry leader through continuous development. And its latest product may spark interest among those who don’t want to change their current watch – or at least not completely.
Payment with a watch strap? It’s possible! Just one purchase
Payment Wristband – because that’s what we’re talking about, is a strap equipped with an NFC chip that allows for quick contactless payments. How does it work? It’s simple. All you need is the Fidesmo Pay mobile app available for Android and iOS smartphones and a compatible device, accessory or jewelry to be able to use the contactless payment option without having to take your smartphone out of your pocket or invest in a smart watch or wristband. After pairing with the app, you can manage payment cards that will be assigned to what you want to use at the moment.
Several accessories can be connected to the application. This makes it easier to manage a whole range of different accessories and allows you to quickly change them depending on the occasion. Everything is presented in a convenient and clear way, without causing any problems. The strap itself, with a width of 20 mm or 22 mm, is to be compatible with all Polar watches, and its price on the European market is 59.90 euros (approx. PLN 255). At the moment, we do not know the Polish price. However, in order for Fidesmo and devices and wearable accessories compatible with the payment system to become widespread and universal, support is needed from the largest banks and institutions. At the moment, we have not been able to confirm that Fidesmo works with any of the large banks in our country.
Payments are no longer limited to watches or phones. Jewelry and accessories are also entering the game
From official information provided by Fidesmo, we know that contactless contactless payments with various rings, or the aforementioned Polar Payment Wristband, can be used by holders of cards issued as part of the Curve application, which is also available in Poland. Wallester customers can also use Fidesmo. The only question is whether anyone will be interested in such an offer, in which you have to do a bit of tinkering to be able to conveniently pay without having to invest in a phone or a smartwatch offering NFC payments.
Fidesmo boasts, however, that its cooperation with various European banks is constantly expanding – in May alone, the company announced the extension of support for contactless payments by additional financial institutions or fintechs in Switzerland, Austria and Serbia. The company also cooperates with many manufacturers of devices and accessories that can be transformed into means of payment. Just visit its official website to check out the offer of rings, pendants, bands and decorative bracelets. All of them can replace a smartphone or watch – at least when it comes to payments.
