Paying with your smartphone is OK, but having the option to pay with any device you want — phone, smartwatch, fitness tracker, key fob — all while enjoying the confidence that the transaction is equally secure no matter which method you choose — now that’s the consumer way.
Options and convenience are two tried and true methods for winning users in the technology world, and those are exactly what FitPay and NXT-ID aim to offer. The startups joined forces earlier this year — one a contactless payments enabler, the other a security technology company.
Their goal? To build a comprehensive Internet of Things (IoT) platform by partnering with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and financial institutions to bring fast, secure payments to a variety of form factors. The startup team took three major steps toward that goal this month.
First, it was announced that FitPay would power Garmin Pay on Garmin’s new smartwatch, which will be available later in October. This is the first commercially live application of the FitPay payment platform.
Second, the team entered into an agreement with Bank of America to collaborate on accelerating adoption of wearable and IoT device payments. Through the agreement, Bank of America customers will gain the ability to use their debit and credit cards with a whole new range of devices and payment technologies that FitPay and NXT-ID will soon be pushing to market.
That means being able to pay securely with their IoT and wearable devices at any NFC-enabled location — that is, a point-of-sale terminal capable of accepting mobile payments such as Apple and Android Pay — as well as interacting with NFC-enabled Bank of America ATMs.
Third, FitPay will be powering payment capabilities for a new platform by FinTech startup Radius. The platform serves Radius’ biometric key fob, which stores up to 20 payment cards and loyalty programs. That comes on the heels of a token ring FitPay powered earlier this year.
NXT-ID CEO Gino Pereira said it’s an exciting time for the partners. Bank of America was the first bank partnership announced, but he said there are more in the pipeline, and the more FitPay builds up its portfolio of banks, the more OEMs will be interested in leveraging its technology for different form factors going forward.
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