Wearable paytech provider MuchBetter has launched a free contactless payments ring in Italy, provided users load it with €100 through the associated app.
Available on the MuchBetter website, customers can purchase the ring for a €5.99 delivery fee. The ceramic, battery-free, and water-resistant ring pairs with the MuchBetter wallet app by holding it near an NFC-enabled smartphone. Once funds are loaded, the ring allows for contactless payments.
After its debut in Italy, the ring will also be introduced in Germany, Austria, the UK, Ireland, and Poland.
Although wearables have been available for about a decade, their adoption has been slow despite the growing popularity of contactless payments. Last year, Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo partnered with Mastercard to launch a ring developed by Swedish fintech Tapster.
Tom Lenihan, director of marketing at MuchBetter, stated, “We believe that payment rings and similar wearables will replace phone and contactless card payments in time, and at MuchBetter we want to be at the forefront of empowering consumers with even more freedom and flexibility in how they want to pay.”