You’ve probably seen the contactless payment symbol at your local store. You may have seen someone waving their ATM card or phone at a payment terminal, or you may even be enjoying contactless payment yourself. If you haven’t, in short, contactless payment allows you to pay for your purchases without having to swipe your card or enter your PIN (personal identification number).
How contactless payment works
The way it works is simple: wave your contactless-enabled device at a payment terminal. The device sends a signal to the terminal in a safe and encrypted fashion and the payment is made.
But it’s not without its downsides. For example, many people are choosing to dip their toe into the world of contactless payment by enabling services like Apple Pay on their phones. But picture this: you’ve gone for a run, with your phone on your armband, and you stop at the far point to get a drink after a hard workout. But you ran a little longer than expected and now your phone is dead. What now?
Wearables are the next thing
Scenarios like these are one reason some people are shifting their attention to a broad category of contactless payment known as “wearables.” As the name suggests, these are payment methods that you wear. Once exclusively the purview of fintech early adopters, wearables are gaining a lot of traction and are popping up at grocery stores near you. You may not have seen a lot of these yet, but they’re poised to explode onto the scene.
Perhaps one of the most promising categories of wearable contactless payment technologies is the Quontic Pay Ring. A compact, sleek ring linked to your Quontic checking account, the Pay Ring makes it as easy as waving your hand at a payment terminal to check out on the go.
The reasons people love the wearable Pay Ring are simple:
- No need to charge. While contactless payment with your phone may have seemed cool at first blush, it only takes one dead battery to quickly sour on the concept of ditching your debit card for your phone or smartwatch. The Pay Ring uses the same chip technology as a debit card, so never needs to be charged.
- Quick Access. Faster even than a phone (and that’s assuming the phone battery hasn’t unexpectedly died), the Pay Ring is right on your hand and doesn’t require you to reach into your pocket for anything. Stories abound of people paying with Pay Ring in a clandestine way that makes onlookers think it’s magic (or their strategically-positioned dog) doing the paying.
- Simple to integrate into your lifestyle. You’ve probably read the stats on the kinds of germs that can collect on cards and phones.. There’s no need to take it off while you wash your hands. It’s waterproof and scratchproof.
- They are versatile. Don’t like wearing rings on your finger? Put yours on a chain, on a bracelet, on your bag, or anywhere you can securely clip something on. They look like a plain ring, so they won’t attract undue attention.
- They are easy to lock. If you misplace your ring, you can lock it remotely to secure it via our Mobile App.
- They are conversation-starters:, It’s still rare enough that you can wow the check-out line with it. If you get a kick out of showing off new tech (or want an excuse to talk to a cute stranger), the ring will have people asking questions.
Contactless payments are the way of the future, but as you survey the options, be sure to pick one that fits your lifestyle and preferences. While phones and smart watches made sense as a first line of wearables, today’s increasingly sophisticated market means you can use something light and longer-lasting like the Quontic Pay Ring, to pay on the go.
Get a free Quontic Pay Ring when you open a Quontic Checking Account with as little as $100.
