Taiwan's Chinatrust Commercial Bank (CCB) has launched a football-themed wrist watch featuring MasterCard's PayPass contactless payment technology ahead of this year's FIFA World Cup in Germany.
THe bank has teamed with Austrian watch maker Laks and contactless card outfit On Track Innovations (OTI) to develop the watch, which is being issued by CCB as a companion device to its MasterCard credit cards.
The limited edition Laks SmartTransaction watch is equipped with MasterCard's RFID PayPass technology and enables customers to pay for purchases under US$25 at participating merchants by tapping a PayPass-enabled terminal.
Laks CEO, Lucas Scheybal, says: "To obtain compliance with MasterCard PayPass specifications, we built high security specifications into an analog watch. Our watches are now set to enter one of the most exciting markets of the future."
Charles Lo, vice chairman, CCB, says: "These watches allow Taiwanese consumers to make purchases by simply tapping their arm on a MasterCard PayPass terminal.
"Leveraging soccer fever and coupling it with a series of promotions, we believe this watch will be well received in the market."