Smartphones already have apps that let users tap to pay. Now banks and tech startups are developing “wearables” that can do the same thing—and can leave cashiers puzzling and curious onlookers quizzing the wearer, writes The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 24, 2018). Customers are paying with rings, watches, bracelets and key rings in a trial this year in the Netherlands by Dutch bank ABN. Barclays has a wearables service in the U.K., which, along with options such as key fobs and wristbands, offers stickers customers can use to turn almost anything into a payment device.
Bankwest, part of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, says it has sold some 10,000 rings at 39 Australian dollars each and hasn’t received complaints from confused businesses. About 400 Bankwest employees helped test a prototype of its ring and a key fob, bracelet and clip that goes onto a watch strap. But ”no nose rings,” says the bank. Contactless payments are growing around the world, and industry analysts say Australia has been a big early adopter.
Yet paying by ring still confounds some Down Under. One ring-wearer working in mining logistics was at a cafe last month in a coastal tourist spot. The barista, seeing her payment go through with no visible card, thought she bought her coffee using the New Age technique of reiki, which purportedly involves energy passing through hands.
Classroom discussion questions:
- Will “wearables” be the new standard in 5 years?
- What are the advantages from an OM perspective? Disadvantages?
