New research from Mercator Advisory Group, The Future Is Not in the Cards: Will “Wearable Payments” Replace Wallets?, examines how rings, wristbands, watches, and other wearable items are being used for payments.

1. The Future Is Not in the Cards:
Will “Wearable Payments” Replace Wallets?
January 2014

2. The Future Is Not in the Cards: Will
“Wearable Payments” Replace Wallets?
New research from Mercator Advisory Group, The Future Is Not in the
Cards: Will “Wearable Payments” Replace Wallets?, examines how
rings, wristbands, watches, and other wearable items are being used for
payments.
In places such as amusement parks, museums, and schools wristbands
and other wearable items are being embedded with contactless chips to
enable their use as a payment device. Acceptance might be limited to a few
vending machines located on a particular property, or it may include
multiple unaffiliated merchants. Some have made use of the MasterCard
and Visa networks to offer an open-loop product good wherever contactless
payments are accepted.
Other companies have attempted to build wearable payments devices for
particular psychographics. Helping runners, cyclists, and other athletes
eliminate sweaty bills and cards was the idea behind one attempt at
wearable payments that may have been ahead of its time.
2014 Mercator Advisory Group

3. The Future Is Not in the Cards: Will
“Wearable Payments” Replace Wallets?
Wearable payments exist in particular contexts. This may cause customers
who use these payment forms to reexamine the ways in which they make
transactions, the driving force behind one wearable payments project in the
United Kingdom described in the report.
Wearable payments will take a place in the grand scheme of payments.
What remains to be determined is whether they will just niches like theme
parks or become a widespread form factor like cards and cash. While their
future depends on the adoption of contactless technology, they also could
help drive the adoption of the technology. As with mobile payments,
adoption of wearable payments will come in stages that may seem
disjointed.
2014 Mercator Advisory Group

4. Ben Jackson
Sr. Analyst
Prepaid Advisory Service
Mercator Advisory Group
"With increased contactless acceptance and the right product
design, in some contexts wearable payments may replace
wallets—both their physical and mobile formats," comments Ben
Jackson, senior analyst, Mercator Advisory Group's Prepaid
Advisory Service and author of the report.
2014 Mercator Advisory Group

5. Highlights of the full report
• Description of various “wearable payments” innovations with
contactless chip embedded that have been deployed
• New opportunities for payments form factors
• The potential of wearable payments to change the way that
shoppers think about payments and lead to incremental spending
• Contexts in which people are most likely to adopt wearable
payments, even if they can be used outside of those venues
2014 Mercator Advisory Group

6. Figure 1: The VITAband
Source: Mercator Advisory Group photo
© 2014 Mercator Advisory Group

7. About the Full Report
This report has 20 pages, 5 exhibits, and 2 appendixes with reward program details.
Companies mentioned in this report include: Cartera Commerce, Truaxis (MasterCard),
Affinity Solutions, Cardlytics, Edo Interactive, FreeMonee, Linkable Networks, Segmint, Rainbow
Rewards, RewardsNOW, U.S. Bank (Elan Financial Services), Bank of America, PNC, FiServe,
Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union, Police and Fire Federal Credit Union, Fifth Third Bank,
Dynamics Inc.
Members of Mercator Advisory Group’s Debit Advisory Service have access to these
reports as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst
access, and other membership benefits.
For more information and media inquiries, please call Mercator Advisory Group's main line:
(781) 419-1700, send e-mail to info@mercatoradvisorygroup.com.
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www.PaymentsJournal.com.
Follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/MercatorAdvisor.
2014 Mercator Advisory Group

8. About Mercator Advisory Group
Mercator Advisory Group is the leading independent research and advisory
services firm exclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. We
deliver pragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients
uncover the most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and
contain costs.
Our clients range from the world's largest payment issuers, acquirers,
processors, merchants and associations to leading technology providers and
investors. Mercator Advisory Group is also the publisher of the online
payments and banking news and information portal PaymentsJournal.com.
2014 Mercator Advisory Group