Swatch (Photo : Reuters)
Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch recently announced it is partnering with Visa Inc. in order to provide contactless payments in the U.S. by 2016 using near field communication (NFC) connectivity.
The Swatch Bellamy, which was first unveiled in China in October, will use this feature to enable users to make Visa payments without connecting to the internet. The company will work with Chinese bank card company UnionPay to provide the same function in China.
The Bellamy watch is expected to be available in the U.S., Switzerland and Brazil sometime by early 2016. The Bellamy will begin selling in China in January next year, according to Swatch.
By using contactless NFC technology, which can communicate over short distances only, Bellamy users can make payments for items by using the "merchants' contactless POS terminals".
The Apple Watch currently uses this technology along with Apple's mobile payment and digital wallet service, Apple Pay, which was launched in 2014. NFC technology has been used for other purposes as well, such as sharing of photos and videos between smartphone users, and playing multiplayer games.
As of this time, there is still no word on the exact price and release date of the Bellamy watch in the U.S. In the Chinese market, it is expected to cost about $91, according to The Verge.
In the meantime, luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer recently launched its first smartwatch that runs on the Android Wear OS. Called the "Connected Watch", the wearable device comes with a whopping price tag of $1,500.
