Swatch Visa Pay Watch Launch Date Announced; No Battery Recharge Unlike Apple Watch?
Swatch announced their partnership with Visa to make payments using their upcoming Bellamy smartwatch in 2016.
Swatch SA, Visa Inc. and Visa Euroope, signed and agreed to allow payments for eligible Visa cardholders in United States, Brazil and Switzerland through their upcoming new timepiece, Swatch Bellamy, according to Swatch Group.
Swatch Visa pay watch is designed to have a high quality payment technology from Visa. Although, the watch is not equipped with internet connection functionality, but because of its near-field communication or NFC technology it is capable to make "pay-by-the-wrist" purchases. This type of payment technology is valid for locations where Visa payment transaction is accepted, according to The Verge.
Swatch, is the largest Switzerland based watch manufacturer based on revenue. The company has been open for new technology for their watches since 2015 and has been teaming up with various companies outside their industry to create better watches.
Swatch Bellamy is named after an American socialist and author, Edward Bellamy who visualized the world where people are using cards for payment. Bellamy is famous for his utopian novel written in 1888 titled "Looking Backward 2000-1887," according to International Business Times.
The Visa paying Swatch's functionality sole purpose is to provide Visa payments for its user. The watch battery doesn't require any charging since it is equipped with a similar battery as other Swatch watches have. Swatch Visa payment capable watch, is unlike any other smartwatch that needs to be charged and has been compared to Apple Watch's battery life of 18 hours, according to CNET.
In comparison to Apple Watch, Visa paying capable watch's price is cheaper which costs $91 and was first introduced in China in 2015. On the other hand, Apple Watch price starts from hundred to thousand dollars and has a mobile payment capability, according to Inverstors.com.
