Why Wristbands Will Trump Smartphones For Payment

It’s the design stupid.

That’s why mobile payments aren’t taking off, at least that’s what startup Artifact Group, whose Startfefact innovation program, or experimentation playpen, is exploring what it calls the “adjacent possible.”

The Seattle-based company’s first payments prototype, called Token, is a biometric wallet wristband. Not to be confused with the basic contactless-payment bands tested the past few years at music and tech extravaganzas, Token is a sophisticated, next-generation payment device that has the chic look of slick German design. The wristband connects to payment accounts of the user’s choice, which could include checking or savings, credit or debit cards, digital currencies, or PayPal, according to the company’s website.

“We have a lot of card-based systems and apps, and a lot of ways to interact with that system. But there isn’t one way to pull all these incongruous things together,” Craig Erickson, a design director at Artefact, told Wired in a recent interview. “The big question is: What if we converged sensors and wearables to create a more efficient way of managing money?”

Smartphones, Erickson said in the interview, place each payment app in a vacuum, making it impossible to sync them with one’s bank statement for budgeting purposes while on the go. With Token, the user would be able to use one wearable form factor to buy a cup of coffee, transfer allowance money to one’s kids, see what’s left in a checking account, and then go buy a meal, all within a short period of time.

Unlike typical credit cards, Token features a security mechanism based on three unique aspects of its owner: something she is, such as a thumb print or heartbeat; something she knows, such as a PIN; and something she owns, which is the device itself. Because of this security, unlike a credit card, the bracelet becomes useless when lost or stolen.

Token also would support emerging technologies many stores are experimenting with now, including location-based services similar to beacons. It acknowledges a merchant’s Wi-Fi, and it could receive product information and transmit payment details with the touch of a finger.

“You do not need to swipe a card or search for the app buried on your iPhone,” the company notes in the production description. “And since it is directly connected to your bank, you can easily lend money to a friend, or safely give your kids their weekly allowance.”

As explained in the Wired article, once accessed by passing all the security barriers, Token has four activity portals that activate with a tap: “pay,” to make purchases; “give,” to transfer funds to someone else; “ask,” to request funds from another user); and “peek,” to check bank statements.

When making a purchase, the device would quickly add up the total, calculate sales tax, and then prompt the wearer with a blue “pay” button. Tap the device, and the transaction is complete. When selecting “peek,” each card account gets its own bar graph that fluctuates as expenses are incurred, or the user may get funds from other Token users.

Unfortunately, the market isn’t yet ready for widespread use of Token, and it’s uncertain when such a product might roll out, or what it would cost. Erickson in the Wired interview imagined all vendors eventually having technology able to accept Bluetooth-beamed payments or that could scan a QR code Token generates.

Interestingly, Token’s concept is derived from wearable fitness-based technologies. In fact, fitness is at the core of what a growing number of mobile companies, including Apple, have started embracing. But Token doesn’t require a phone, nor does it support phone calls. After all, it’s “adjacent possible” technology, so a phone is likely nearby anyway. Isn’t that the case with everyone these days?