Amsterdam Bank Rolls Out Wearable Payment Ring

An Amsterdam-based bank, ABN Amro, may have taken payment wearables to a new level.

In a pilot test round, the bank is giving out near field communications (NFC)-enabled rings to a select group of customers. ABN Amro plans on rolling out more of these rings in the latter half of 2017. The wearable rings were provided by wearable tech company Kerv which debuted the ring at the Wearable Technology Show earlier this year.

Through this ring, customers can make payments directly from their bank accounts. Once the ring is within range of the contactless payment station, and is paired with it, funds are dispersed for the retail transaction.

A spokesperson for ABN Amro commented on the new Kerv ring offering.

“We are testing the Kerv ring at the moment and we are also testing a watch,” he said. “It will be possible for other wearable suppliers to get their NFC chip certified according to the right security standards, monitored by Mastercard, to connect it to the payment account.”