What is SwatchPAY!
Having a SwatchPAY! it's a bit like having a credit card always on your wrist: just bring the watch close to the POS and the payment is made in contactless mode, therefore without physical contact, safely and without additional costs. But how exactly does this "magic" work?
Well, you must know that SwatchPAY watches! integrate in their quadrant a chip NFC. NFC (acronym for Near Field Communication) is a technology that allows secure wireless communication, over a short distance, between two devices that support it. It is the same that underlies the most popular contactless payment systems, including those that work as smartphones and smartwatches.
THEassociation between SwatchPAY! and paper payment card is secure (your payment card details are encrypted and only transmitted to Mastercard or Visa) and 100% free. It can happen either when buying the watch (online or at a physical Swatch Store), either at a later time, through theapp SwatchPAY! for smartphones or always in a physical Swatch Store. The activation process (tokenization) of your payment card is thus carried out, through which one is created virtual card linked to the real card. Once this is done (generally, the process takes 5-8 minutes) you can immediately start paying with your watch in all businesses that accept contactless payments.
As of this writing, SwatchPAY! is available in cities, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Russia, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Poland, the United Arab Emirates and China, but can be used worldwide. Works with cards MasterCard e Visa of many institutes, and the list, however, is constantly growing: you can find the updated list on the Swatch website. Only one payment card can be associated with each SwatchPAY! Watch, but nothing prevents you from associating the same card with multiple watches.
Among the main advantages of SwatchPAY !, compared to the payment systems included in smartphones and smartwatches, as already pointed out, is the fact that does not require batteries to operate: the payment function of SwatchPAY! it is in fact independent of the watch battery, which is used only for the timepiece function, and, therefore, there is no risk of not being able to make the payment. Also they are models are light, trendy and impermeable, the latter feature is super interesting. For example, on vacation days spent by the sea, you can get out of the water and go directly to the bar by paying with the watch!
SwatchPAY watches!
But what are the watches from the SwatchPAY collection!? The choice, in this sense, is vast and varied. In fact, there are models suitable for any style, of different sizes and different price ranges, starting from 75 euros.
Going into more detail, there are the models Gent of 34 mm, the models New Gent from 41mm and 47mm Big Bold models. You can buy them directly online on the Swatch website, in one Swatch Store or at authorized Authorized Resellers. The complete list can be found in the “Select your Store” section of the Swatch website.
In the case of online purchase, just select the model you prefer, indicate if activate your SwatchPAY! at the moment or later (through the appropriate drop-down menu) and click on button with the price. Afterwards, go to cash and choose whether to log in with yours account Swatch, which you can also create at the moment or if you make a quick purchase without logging in. Finally, enter i billing information, choose the mode of shipment you prefer and complete the payment directly online by following the instructions on the screen. Soon after you will be guided through the process of starting the pairing of the payment card with your new SwatchPAY!
As for the in-store purchase, there isn't much to explain. Activation of SwatchPAY! - as I will explain shortly - it will be done directly on site through a secure location called SwatchPAY! Box.
How SwatchPAY works!
Now that you know what is SwatchPAY! and what are the Watches that support it, I would say to enter the practical side of the matter and to find out more closely how the aforementioned technology works: you will be surprised by how simple it is and, above all, how convenient it is to use it to make payments!
How to activate SwatchPAY!
As already mentioned, in order to pay with SwatchPAY! you must first associate your card with the watch.
If you've decided to buy your SwatchPAY! online, you can associate the payment card with the watch directly on the Swatch website: all you have to do is select the option Yes, activate now! in the drop-down menu activate your SwatchPAY! Now present on the purchase page of your watch, click on button with the price and proceed with the on-screen instructions. You will first be asked to enter the BIN code card, to verify its actual compatibility with the SwatchPAY! system.
Once this is done, you can complete the purchase of the watch and complete the card association procedure directly online. The route is guided and very simple, it will take a few minutes.
At this point, when you receive the watch, please download theapp SwatchPAY! per Android or iPhone, log in to your account with the credentials you previously created during the online association and activate the payment function by entering the unique code found on the watch packaging. Then an OTP (one-time password) will arrive via SMS and that's it! It only takes a few steps to complete everything.
If you choose to buy the watch in one Swatch Store or Authorized Reseller physical, you can complete the SwatchPAY activation process! directly on site, through the workstation SwatchPAY! Box available in store.
The SwatchPAY! Box present in the Swatch Stores is a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and NFC (Near Field Communication) reader that allows you to complete the association between watch and payment card in a simple and secure way. All the data received from the station, in fact, come from the TSP payment network and are encrypted (Swatch, therefore, cannot read or use your data).
The procedure is very simple: download theapp SwatchPAY! per Android or iPhone on your smartphone, create your account inserting email address e Password (you will also need to open the verification link received by e-mail), press the button to insert a new card (top right), enter i card details in the proposed form, click on the button Continueselect il watch model you purchased and frame the QR Code by SwatchPAY! Box and then complete the association process with the Swatch Store staff using the SwatchPAY! Box.
You have chosen to activate SwatchPAY! at a later time and not when buying the watch? In this case, you can choose between two different options: use theSwatchPAY app! for smartphone and an Android device equipped with NFC or go to one Swatch Store physical (or other authorized Authorized Reseller) using, also in this case, the workstation SwatchPAY! Box available in store.
As I anticipated, as regards the activation from the app with a smartphone, a Android device equipped with an NFC chip. So just download the SwatchPAY application! from the google play store, start it, create a account or access an existing one, select the mode of activation by telephone, press the button for add a new card (top right), enter i card details to be associated with the watch, place the smartphone on the watch and finally assign a name to the latter, if you like.
As for thein-store activation, everything is done through the workstation SwatchPAY! Box as explained a few lines above in relation to the activation of the card during the purchase phase.
If you have any doubts or problems, find out more about the SwatchPAY activation procedure! on the official Swatch website.
How to pay with SwatchPAY!
Once the card is associated with the watch, pay with SwatchPAY! it's really simple: just make your purchases in any business that supports contactless payments and bring the watch closer to the POS. Within moments, the transaction is completed and the amount to be paid is charged to the card associated with the watch.
There are no hidden fees or charges. As for the spending limits, any limits are set by the bank issuing the payment card and not by SwatchPAY !. At the moment, in the city there is the obligation to enter the PIN on the merchant's POS for all purchases over 25 euros. After payment, you will also be able to view the transactions made in the SwatchPAY app! for smartphone.
If necessary, you can too suspend or remove the card from the watch. To do this, log into the SwatchPAY app! on your smartphone, locate your card and select the option Suspend virtual card, if you want to temporarily suspend the card, or the option Delete the virtual card, to completely eliminate the token and the association between watch and card (which therefore will no longer be usable for payments with SwatchPAY!, unless after having made a new association of the same).
For more information
If you need more information on SwatchPAY! and on how it works, I invite you to consult the official website and, more specifically, the FAQ page, where you can find the answers to all the most frequently asked questions about this payment system.
Article created in collaboration with Swatch.
How SwatchPAY works!
