On November 8, 2017, Visa introduced three commercially available payment-enabled wearables. In the spirit of the Olympic Winter Games, Visa created NFC-enabled payment gloves, commemorative stickers and Olympic pins that allow fans and athletes to complete seamless and secure payments with a simple tap at any contactless-enabled terminal.
NFC stands for near-field communication, a set of communication protocols that enable two electronic devices, one of which is usually a portable device such as a smartphone, to establish communication by bringing them within 1.6 inches of each other. NFC devices are used in contactless payment systems, similar to those used in credit cards and electronic ticket smartcards and allow mobile payment to replace or supplement these systems.
Visa teamed up with Lotte Card, the financial arm of South Korean-based Lotte Department Store, to produce and make these new prepaid payment wearables available for purchase in Korea beginning November 9. About the products:
- Payment-Enabled Gloves: The average temperature in PyeongChang will be 10 degrees below freezing, so gloves will be a must-have. This payment glove will offer fans a way to pay safely and securely without having to get cold hands. The gloves contain a dual interface chip housed with a contactless antenna capable of completing purchases throughout official Olympic Venues and compatible readers globally. The gloves will come with embedded prepaid amounts valued 26 or 44 dollars.
- Payment-Enabled Pins: Inspired by the long-standing tradition of collecting commemorative pins at the Olympic Games, Visa is bringing to market four unique lapel pins featuring custom PyeongChang 2018 designs to offer a payment-enabled collectable for fans and athletes to utilize on-site. Cost per pin is $4.50 plus desired embedded prepaid amounts valued at 26 or 44 dollars.
- Payment-Enabled Stickers: With a thin and flexible adhesive design and an embedded dual interface NFC-chip and antenna, these micro-tags can be attached to almost anything to make seamless payments in a moment's notice. The wearable sticker is available in denominations of 26, 44, 90, or 180 dollars. The collection includes eight distinct designs including Soohorang – the official PyeongChang 2018 mascot – the Korean flag, and much more.
The stickers and pins can be purchased from Lotte Card's customer centers in Korea and the Lotte Card website. During the Games, all three wearables will also be available for purchase at the Olympic Superstores in conveniently located Visa vending machines.
In addition to the wearables and as the exclusive payment partner of the Olympic Games, Visa is facilitating and managing the entire payment system infrastructure and network throughout all venues within the Games. This includes more than a thousand contactless point-of-sale terminals capable of accepting mobile and wearable payments.