Intesa Sanpaolo is launching a wearable payment ring for customers to tap and pay at the checkout.
The Italian bank has collaborated with Mastercard on the roll out of the ring, which was developed by Swedish fintech Tapster.
Made of shockproof wood and ceramic, the ring "does not require any battery charge or internet connection to get into operation, it indeed uses an integrated NFC chip for simple actions, such as paying with a credit card," says the bank. "The wearable is shipped in an inactive state together with a QR code that allows activation only by the cardholder, with authentication via the Intesa Sanpaolo Mobile app.
"To pay for the purchases in contactless mode, it is necessary to simply bring the ring close to the POS, just like for payments via physical cards or smartphones."
Research conducted by Mastercard shows that European consumers who have already adopted the payment ring prefer it to other contactless payment methods. The payment ring is by far the preferred method (89%), followed by smartphones (49%) and payment cards (44%).
Luca Fiumarella, head of marketing Italy at Mastercard, declares: "Payment rings represent a further step towards the spread of the internet of things, where even accessories that we wear and that are part of our personal style become tools that, through a single gesture, simplify our daily lives.