Garmin Pay to launch in Ireland

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jun 20, 2018

Irish consumers will now be able to use their Garmin smartwatches to pay for products and services on the go, as the tech company announces a new partnership with KBC Bank.

The deal is making Garmin Pay available in Ireland for the first time, joining Google Pay, Apple Pay and Fitbit Pay in their fight to lead the contactless payments rise.

Garmin’s Forerunner 645 and Vivoactive 3 smartwatches are some of the styles that will be compatible with the service,” said the bank on Tuesday.

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“For KBC customers, the launch of Garmin Pay is about combining fitness, lifestyle and banking in a way that works for the modern consumer,” said Eddie Dillion, director of innovation at KBC Bank Ireland.

“As a society, we’re rapidly moving towards mobile tap-and-go payments, using our watches, fitness trackers and smartphones to do everything from paying for a coffee to applying for a personal loan. The future of banking is changing, and KBC is responding fast.”

The technology, powered by FitBit Pay, will be made available to more than 262,000 KBC customers in Ireland. The bank was the first to offer Apple Pay and Google Pay in a bid to lure more younger consumers through digital and innovative services.

Garmin’s new contactless payment option was launched in December last year, and allows users to seamlessly pay for products by tapping the watch against a point-of-sale terminal. It is featured in Garmin’s latest sports watch the Forerunner 645, which offers GPS, heart rate technology and built-in music storage.