Swatch and ABN Amro introduce watches for contactless payment

ABN Amro adds Swatch NFC watches to its range of supported wearables for contactless payment. Swatch has six different watch models with nfc chip behind the dial.

From Tuesday, ABN Amro will support the Swiss company’s watches. The bank already supported Garmin smartwatches, Fitbit fitness trackers and other brands of rings, bracelets, stickers, key chains and watches. Swatch can now also be found in that list on the ABN site.

The six different SwatchPay models can be found on the Swatch site that have the necessary nfc chips on board. The models are almost identical in shape and the colors and patterns differ. All models cost 75 euros.

Just like an OV chip card, for example, a wearable does not necessarily need to be charged to pay; the payment terminal wirelessly supplies the necessary energy to the nfc chip. This also means that the watch continues to work when the battery is empty, which is not the case with a smartphone. When purchasing an ABN-compatible wearable, customers must provide its serial number with the bank, after which it can serve as a contactless payment method.

ING only supports payment by smartphone and bank card and Rabobank supports Garmin and Fitbit. Bunq does not want to use wearables because of, among other things, practical and security considerations. Bunq leader Ali Niknam says he does not see the essential advantage compared to paying with a smartphone or bank card.