24 Wearable Payment Innovations

While the idea of using a smartphone app to make a purchase is becoming more mainstream, wearable payment apps are also moving beyond the smartphone. Indeed, the growing popularity of smartwatches and fitness trackers has slowly made wearables an easy platform for payment-enabling apps.

With devices such as the Apple Watch and the Pebble smartwatch becoming increasingly popular among consumers, many companies have created specific payment apps for wearables. For example, Starbucks' 'Wearbucks' app allows consumers to pay for their coffee with a simple wave of the wrist. Other examples of wrist-worn wallets include Wallaby's smartwatch app, the Westpac Bank app and the AmEx app for the Jawbone fitness band.

Beyond smartwatches and fitness trackers, wearable payment apps are also being integrated with more unusual accessories. For example Barclays Bank created a separate bracelet for facilitating contactless payments. MasterCard has taken the idea even further by creating a full line of app-integrated clothing that allows users to make touchless payments on the go.