Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments and Fitbit, the leading global wearables brand, today announced that Fitbit Pay™ will be available to its customers in Thailand on Fitbit Ionic or Fitbit Versa and starting November 2018, on its newest tracker, Fitbit Charge 3. Customers of Kasikornbank, KTC and Siam Commercial Bank can add their Visa credit or debit card to their device, enabling them to make payments on the go directly from their wrist.
The continuous rise in mobile connectivity has led to the proliferation of digital payments, with Visa helping to offer more ways to pay through devices such as phones, watches and now fitness trackers. According to Visa’s Consumer Payment Attitudes Study, seven in ten Thais (67%) said they preferred using electronic payments, including cards, mobile devices and wearables, more often than cash, deliberately moving away from notes and coins.
Suripong Tantiyanon, Country Manager, Visa Thailand said: “At Visa, we continue to provide payment experiences across a wide range of form factors and are pleased to partner with Fitbit as well as our financial partners. There is much potential and opportunity for such wearables to create convenient and relevant payment experiences that truly change the way people make their day-to-day payments, particularly at places that are traditionally heavy on cash. This is another step forward in the growth of Internet of Things and shows how Visa is enabling companies across the technology industry to help us all move towards a cashless future.”
Fitbit Pay can be easily set-up on Fitbit Ionic or Fitbit Versa by following simple steps in the Fitbit mobile app on Android or iOS devices to add a credit or debit card to the Fitbit Wallet. Fitbit Pay brings convenience and freedom to users to leave their smartphone and wallet at home, and easily make purchases at thousands of stores where contactless payments are already accepted.
Fitbit Pay provides secure payments through the Visa Token Service. Tokenization is a payment security technology that replaces card account information, such as account numbers and expiration dates, with a unique digital identifier (“token”) that is used for payment without exposing a cardholder’s more sensitive account information. A user’s card information is never revealed or shared with merchants. Plus, a protected PIN is chosen by the user during device set-up for an added layer of protection. Users can leave their wallet at home and pay with a touch of their wrist.