Following a report earlier this week that Jawbone would announce a new partnership with American Express, the company today announced the Jawbone UP4 fitness tracker. Thanks to an embedded NFC chip payment system, users will be able to simply tap to pay with the fitness band anywhere that American Express contactless payments are accepted in the U.S.
“We’re delighted to partner with American Express to launch UP4, our most advanced and stylish tracker that’s small enough to wear 24/7,” said Travis Bogard, vice president of product management and strategy at Jawbone. “They provided the innovative and forward-thinking approach needed to create this new experience, combined with a sophisticated and robust payment system, and a wide range of supported merchants.”
Jawbone’s jump into mobile payments is not without limitations: The Jawbone UP4 contactless payments will only work with American Express. Owners of other credit card types will need to find themselves an alternate solution for the time being.
While full details about the Jawbone UP4 have yet to be revealed, it will sport the same design and multi-sensor platform as the UP3 tracker. It will also off the same advanced sleep and activity tracking and heart health monitoring.
The UP app, available for both Android and iOS, will include a new Payments section that will work with the same Americanexpress.com user ID and password used to manage your account online and will allo you to select an American Express card to connect to the UP4 for payments. Once set up, payments will be as simple as:
- Look for the contactless symbol on the in-store checkout terminal
- Tap thecontactless symbol on the UP4 tracker to the terminal
- A confirmation on the terminal will signal a successful payment
The Jawbone UP4 is expected to start shipping sometime this summer. It will sell for US$199 (the UP3 sells for US$179 and starts shipping next week).
Source : Jawbone (PDF)