Saudi Arabia's Riyad Bank is getting into the wearables market, launching a contactless bracelet and stickers for cell phones.
Fitted with Gemalto's contactless MiniTag, the bracelets may be linked to the user's existing debit or credit account as well as to pre-paid accounts for swift tap-and-go shopping on the high street.
The bank is also issuing Gemalto's contactless sticker which can be fixed to the back of any cell phone to turn it into a secure contactless payment device.
Riyad bank joins the likes of National Bank of Greece, ABN Amro and Barclaycard in Europe and Westpac and Bank West in Australia in cashing in on perceived consumer demand for new wearable form factors for contactless payments.
Recent research from Mastercard suggests that one-quarter of Europeans expect to start using tap-and-go payments with a smartwatch, bracelet, keyring or other wearables.