Author: JT

This wearable technology saw its debut at the Rio 2016 Olympics and was worn by athletes there.

The NFC Ring has been attracting interest since its original crowdfunding by way of Kickstarter. It has finally made its debut, which occurred at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Olympic athletes wore the wearables enabled with near field communication technology. This made it possible for them to pay for their purchases using their Visa accounts.

Now, these wearable technology devices are available for the rest of the public to pre-order.

The NFC Ring works through near field communication technology. This means that it can be tapped against NFC readers in-store to pay for purchases. The tech is now available for pre-order and has a price tag of about $53. The user must choose his or her ring size in order to make sure it will fit his or her hand. The first wave of shipments are expected to begin in December. That said, while it is equipped with the technology for mobile payments it’s important to note that the relationship with Visa was limited to the test with the Olympians.

The NFC Ring payments technology is getting ready for widespread use.

NFC technology is a much shorter range of wireless communication than Bluetooth or WiFi. This means that a mobile payments transaction can’t be completed unless the wearables are waved immediately over the reader or are tapped together.

Many of the largest mobile wallets use this technology. This includes Apple Pay, Android Pay and many others launched by credit card companies and even retailers. The new wearable technology is among the first to provide a device other than a smartphone or smartwatch for mobile payments.

This specific project began with Kickstarter around three years ago. It has been carefully watched by the tech community and consumers alike. This marks its first release for public purchase. It is sold in black and white ceramic color options. The design is such that it appears to be a regular ring instead of some form of technology.

Aside from mobile payments, the NFC Ring can also be used with near field communication enabled smartphones and tablets to unlock them without the need for a password or passcode.

* Correction – this article was altered on August 27, 2016. It had previously inaccurately implied that the relationship between Visa and the NFC Ring extended beyond the test among the Olympians in Rio 2016.

The Chinese smartphone transaction system is launching in the western continent with a start in Canada.

China’s UnionPay mobile payments system is now in North America. It took its first steps into the continent by launching in Canada. This mobile transaction service is the international subsidiary of the Chinese interbank network. The network functions to link the credit and debit card payments throughout that country’s banks.

UnionPay International is enormous, placing third in the world as a payment network.

Only Visa and MasterCard are larger payment networks than UnionPay. This is primarily because of its reach throughout China and its recent rapid expansion outside the country. Now that UnionPay mobile payments launched in Canada, its QuickPass system will be available to many Canadian merchants. It will be focused on “daily spending” merchants in that country. This represents the first time the system has entered North America, despite its wide expansion elsewhere.

UnionPay mobile payments can be used with QuickPass enabled smartphones or EMV chip cards.

There is a QuickPass spending cap at $100 (CAD) for transactions without a PIN or signature when using either credit or debit. This is meant to enhance the system’s mobile security. Moreover, it will make it fast and easy for Canadian consumers to use the system without having to enter a PIN.

As of yet, it is not known precisely how many Canadian merchants are interested in these mobile payments. The number of companies participating in QuickPass was not revealed at the launch. However, UnionPay has said that there will at least be more than 70,000 merchants with the required tech. It also pointed out that the infrastructure in the country is well suited to accept contactless payments.

Therefore, there is potential that a sizeable percentage of those with the ability to accept contactless payments will participate.

At the moment, the North American launch of UnionPay mobile payments is exclusive to Canada. However, there is a very large potential audience in the rest of the continent. This may mean that the company is setting up to subtly become a direct competitor with certain leading mobile wallets such as Apple Pay.