According to some recent news, there could be a brand new answer to the question “How will you pay” with a new wristband being launched with Visa’s payWave system. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, or simply own an older card, Visa Paywave is what enables you to pay with using the magnetic band on your card. On more recent cards, a logo with little waves indicates that this means of payment is available to you. The advantage? It simply requires less time at the counter at things move more quickly than if you would have to enter your personal identification number or sign something. As more credit users change their cards, this way of paying quickly for goods and services is becoming more and more common. Visa does have some competitors however if the area of what’s called contactless payment with American Express and MasterCard also offering similar features.
And now, the world of wearables has arrived and the payWave system offered by Visa could land on wristband thanks to a company from Calgary, Canada. What’s exactly the position of this new product in the world of wearables? Well, what a company called DC Payments named the “DC tag” is looking to fulfill the needs of those looking to spend little money when it comes to wearables, and only looking for one function obviously. Only 10$ would be necessary to be able to pay contactless with a wearable using this product, and while it can’t replace a multifunction watch, it might do the trick for some customers. Canada will be one of the first countries to try it out and see if people who get them continue using them. We will then be able to see if these kinds of cheaper wearables are viable in the long-run, and how much business they bring in.
Thinking About the Uses
An idea like this obviously has interesting implications and possible uses. For instance, someone who plays a lot of sports outside and wishes to avoid carrying a big wallet around with a big bump in their pockets could use this thing to get away with a quick ice cream without pulling anything out. Surely, the comparison with high-tech wearables wouldn’t be fair, but at such a price it seems to be a product that definitely has its uses. Some could consider it as an entry-level ticket to the world of wearables.
In a way, this kind of product could almost seem as a promotional item of some sort, which in this case puts Visa forward of course. But then the trend could go in other domains where other companies would try to making their clients return with their own customized way to pay. Maybe an arcade where you usually use your credit card to charge up your account could make a good use of these. Certainly, we’re not about to see everyone pay with their wristbands at the grocery store, but this could still be put to good use by some companies considering the price.
Anything that happens outside could benefit from this – activities in the summer can get sweaty, and pulling out a wallet with your bike gloves on might not necessarily be the most fun thing. But with an item like this DC tag, people could be more encouraged to make transactions on the fly. Merchants will be attracted to this and if contactless payments means more business, you can bet some business will be making some kind of a switch. There’s a social aspect to this, but with the growth of the wearables world, people are starting to see that the technology is more than a simple gadget or perk. The trend could always not grow, but the entry cost isn’t too intimidating in this case.
For a moment, we thought wearables were only these expensive items that no one would dare to afford, and now we see this company changing up the concept completely. This is probably something to expect in the upcoming few years with wearables being exposed to people with great innovative minds that can think up new concepts for the technology. As it is often the case with new technology, wearables started off as this far-out thing, and is now getting closer to people as we see some products that are becoming more of match.
So, in your opinion, could this lead to more single-purpose wearables in the future? Are the current high wearable products out of your range and you would prefer some cheaper alternatives like this? Let us know in the comments.
