Swatch confirms payment watch launch in US, Switzerland and Brazil

Swatch Bellamy
SWATCH IT: The Bellamy contactless payment watch will roll out in early 2016

Swiss luxury watchmaker Swatch has confirmed that it has signed an agreement with Visa and Visa Europe to enable eligible cardholders in the US, Switzerland and Brazil to tap and pay with the Swatch Bellamy watch.

“Swatch Bellamy, in collaboration with Visa, is scheduled to be initially available in early 2016 in the US, Switzerland and Brazil,” Swatch says. “The new Swatch Bellamy watches have all the fun, colour and great design that Swatch is famous for and a built-in NFC chip hidden under the dial.

“Like a prepaid bank card, a Swatch Bellamy watch allows customers to pay for items using merchants’ contactless POS terminals. Pay-by-the-wrist transactions require absolutely no energy at all from the watch itself, meaning customers can expect the usual battery life of a Swatch.”

The watch is named after Edward Bellamy, an American author whose 1888 science fiction novel ‘Looking Backward’ imagines life in a socialist utopia where cash has been replaced by payment cards. “Bellamy was the first to write about such cards, forty years before anyone else,” says Swatch.

Swatch Bellamy made its debut in China in October 2015 in partnership with China UnionPay and Bank of Communications, letting consumers make payments with a tap of their wrist in stores across the country. Reports first surfaced about the company’s contract with Visa last week.

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