Wearable technology: SwatchPAY! launches in Ukraine with Mastercard

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astercard and Swiss watch brand Swatch are launching a new contactless payment service in Ukraine, SwatchPAY!

Owners of SwatchPAY! watches will be able to pay with their devices at contactless terminals in stores and cafes and on public transport. Contactless payments with SwatchPAY! are available to holders of Mastercard cards issued by Bank Vostok, Oschadbank and PrivatBank.

SwatchPAY! uses an NFC chip hidden underneath the watch dial. Customers just need to place the watch next to a contactless terminal to make a payment. The SwatchPAY! watch is water-resistant to a depth of 30m, and unlike smartphones, does not require a battery to make payments.

“Never has contactless payment been this popular! We are all the more excited to launch SwatchPAY! in Ukraine together with our strong partners from Mastercard, Bank Vostok, Oschadbank, and PrivatBank,” said Bernardo Tribolet, marketing vice-president at Swatch International.

“Setting up your SwatchPAY! is simple, fast and does not come at any extra costs. To use SwatchPAY!, there is no need to separately activate the payment function or keep the watch within the range of the connected smartphone, which makes contactless payment safe and convenient.”

Yuriy Batkhin, vice-president for business development at Mastercard Ukraine and Moldova, added: “Almost 40% of all Mastercard card transactions in Ukraine at offline retail stores are made with NFC-enabled smartphones and devices today. Payments with wearable devices like watches and wristbands are gaining popularity particularly fast: Ukraine is already on the top-three list of Europe’s leading countries by the number of such payments.”