Garmin enters the payments market with Vivoactive smartwatch

Garmin Vivoactive 3 smartwatches in three colours
GARMIN PAY: The Vivoactive 3 smartwatch is available in three colour combinations, starting from US$300

Garmin has unveiled a GPS-enabled smartwatch that includes an NFC contactless payments service called Garmin Pay which supports cards from both Visa and Mastercard and enables the wearer to “make secure payments from the watch, no phone or wallet required.”

“Anyone who is out and about being active can relate to the struggle of where to stash a credit card or cash, and has had to forgo a post-workout snack or coffee as a result,” says Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales.

“We’re solving that dilemma with Garmin Pay, an exciting feature on the new Vívoactive 3. Use it pretty much wherever contactless payments are accepted, and give yourself one less thing to remember when you’re leaving the house.”

The contactless payment functionality for the Vivoactive 3 is provided by FitPay and “supports Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards from major issuing banks, with more being added every day.”

57% of those who bring forms of payment along with them on workouts admitted to placing it in an unconventional place, like a sock or their undergarments, Visa’s new Sweaty Money Survey has found.

60% of those surveyed said they would be interested in using a wearable device to pay for something during their workout and 49% have wanted to make a payment before or after working out, but couldn’t because they didn’t have a form of payment with them. 57% said they refrain from carrying any form of payment while exercising because they’re worried about losing it or have no place to put it.

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