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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14, ARMNPRESS. Swatch Group AG is linking up with China’s banking giants to sell a timekeeper that can make payments at retailers across the country, posing a challenge to Apple company’s and Samsung Electronics company’s smart watches. The timepiece will allow users to make payments at stores that haveChina UnionPay company’s point-of-sale machines, according to the Biel, Switzerland-based company which is also teaming up with Bank of Communications ,one of China’s big-five banks. “Armenpress” informs about the aforementioned, citing Bloomberg agency.
Retailing for 580 yuan ($91), the device called Swatch Bellamy will be sold in Chinaat Bocom and Swatch outlets from January next year and later rolled out in Switzerland and the U.S., Chief Executive OfficerNick Hayek said at a briefing in Shanghai on Wednesday. A near-field communication chip beneath the dial lets the device function in a way similar to a bank card.
The product adds to the competition faced by Apple and Samsung’s smart watches, which have payment capabilities but aren’t linked in to the Unionpay network.Wearable devices, could top $32.2 billion in sales by 2019, up from $18.9 billion last year, estimates researcher IHS, whose forecast includes devices like hearing aids.
China’s mobile payment transactions jumped 134 percent to 22.6 trillion yuan ($3.6 trillion) in 2014, according to the central bank. UnionPay, once the nation’s monopolized payment network, faces rising competition from third-party payment service providers including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., while foreign firms such as Apple and Samsung Electronics Co. are also eyeing the Chinese market.