Discover, Garmin Pay Team On Payments

Discover, the payments company, and Garmin International announced on Monday (Jan. 28) that Discover cardmembers can now make payments using Garmin Pay, a contactless payment solution offered by the device maker.

In a press release, Discover and Garmin said Garmin Pay, which is powered by FitPay, is available on Garmin’s vívoactive 3 series smartwatch, and also on its Forerunner GPS running watches: the Forerunner 645, Forerunner 645 Music and Fenix 5 Plus series, as well as the D2 Delta Aviator Watch series.

“Consumers are constantly on the go, and our goal is to make it as simple and seamless as possible for our cardmembers to pay with their Discover card, including on IoT and wearable devices,” said Shaida Lynch, vice president of e-business at Discover, in the press release announcing the deal with Garmin. “Now someone can be out on a jog or running errands, and the ability to pay with Discover from their Garmin watch is just a quick tap away.”

According to Discover, cardmembers can use Garmin Pay at any retail location that accepts Discover and contactless near-field communication (NFC) transactions. In order for it to work, Discover cardmembers add the payment card to Garmin’s virtual wallet via the Garmin Connect Mobile app. They can then make purchases with a few touches on their device. Discover noted that cardmembers who use Garmin Pay for purchases will get the perks associated with the cards including rewards, fraud protection and customer service in the U.S.

“We are excited to provide our customers and Discover cardmembers with another way to pay while they are on the go,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales, in the same press release. “Having the ability to easily pay for purchases, without the need for a phone or wallet, is a feature that we are happy to bring to users who live an active lifestyle.”