Boat users in India can now make payments using their smartwatches
Boat smartwatch users can now use the tap-and-pay functionality at eligible point-of-sale (POS) terminals in India, following an announcement at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024 on Friday (August 30). For this move, the Indian smart wearable brand has partnered with Mastercard, enabling payment services on credit and debit cards from supported banks. This functionality can be accessed via boAt’s official application, secured by Mastercard’s tokenization capabilities.
Tap and pay on Boat Smartwatches
In a press release, Boat announced that its payment-enabled smartwatches can be used to make payments via tap-and-pay method at POS terminals. No PIN is required for transactions up to Rs. 5,000. Security is maintained using cryptocurrencies that power Mastercard’s tokenization capabilities.
We are excited to partner with Indian consumers to enable payments through wearable devices @RockWithboAt to bring fast, secure tap & pay capabilities to boAt smartwatches. Backed by Mastercard device tokenization, this cost-effective solution will help accelerate the… photo.twitter.com/AYilfQlzKN
— Mastercard India (@mastercardindia) August 29, 2024
Speaking at the launch, Sameer Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO of Boat, said: “Our partnership with Mastercard will expand access to a consumer base that has consistently shown their eagerness to adopt newer forms of contactless payments.”
The company says the tap-and-pay functionality will be available for Mastercard cardholders of some of India’s leading banks. It will be expanded to other banks in due course. The move comes after the country’s wearables market witnessed 34 percent growth, leading to a 73.7 percent increase in smartwatch shipments in 2023.
Other announcements at GFF 2024
Besides Mastercard, Bharti Airtel and Google Pay also made announcements at the event. In partnership with Noise, it introduced a smartwatch with support for National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) technology. It comes with an integrated RuPay chip that enables transactions from the user’s wrist. Similar to Boat’s new tap-and-pay functionality, Airtel smartwatch users will also be able to make payments at contactless terminals, up to a limit of Rs. 5,000 without entering their PIN.
Meanwhile, Google announced a new feature called UPI Circle on Google Pay. It allows the user’s loved ones to make digital payments without having to link their own bank account. Users can set a monthly limit within which the secondary users can make transactions without needing approval, or approve every transaction every time.
