Mondaine earlier this year unveiled its Mondaine PayChip smart strap. It holds an NFC chipset that allows users to make payments by simply tapping their watch to an NFC-enabled terminal. Mondaine’s first partner was Switzerland’s Cembra Money Bank AG. A second partnership, this one with Barclays Bank, has now brought similar contactless payment capabilities to the UK. The Mondaine SBB collection sold in the UK will now be available with Barclaycard’s bPay loop.
The strap loop holds the NFC chipset and simply slips onto the watch strap. It will initially be available on Mondaine’s SBB Evo Big Date and Simply Elegant for men and women with pricing starting at £179.00 (about US$240 or about CA$310). It also can be bought separately for £19.99 (about US$26 or about CA$35) and works with any watch with a strap up to 22mm wide with an open buckle.
“At Mondaine, we unite form, function and invention. Barclaycard has a similar ethos for innovation – they want to make it easier for buyers to buy. For us, we get to introduce our Swiss-made, classical timepieces to a wider audience, and Barclaycard have given shoppers another easy way to pay,” explained Colin Lee, Director of Sales at Burton McCall Ltd, a Mondaine UK Watch distributor.
The bPay Loop can be used to make payments of up to £30 (about US$40 or about CA$50) at over 400,000 locations across the UK.
While Mondaine is Barclay’s only traditional bPay Loop watch partner, devices from both Fitbit and Garmin also support this contactless payment technology.
Sources : Mondaine // Barclays Bank