SBI, Titan launch contactless payment watches

With this launch, account holders of the bank can tap their Titan Pay watch on contactless payment point-of-sale (POS) machines without the need of swiping or inserting their debit card, the bank said in a statement. "We believe this innovative offering will redefine the shopping experience for our customers with tap and pay technology.

State Bank of India (SBI) and Titan Company have partnered to introduce a range of Titan Pay watches powered by YONO, the lender's mobile banking app. These watches will have contactless payment functions. With this launch, account holders of the bank can tap their Titan Pay watch on contactless payment point-of-sale (POS) machines without the need of swiping or inserting their debit card, the bank said in a statement.

"We believe this innovative offering will redefine the shopping experience for our customers with tap and pay technology. The opportunities are endless because we have seen the explosion in digital transactions. The time is right for contactless (payments)," the bank's chairman Rajnish Kumar told reporters. To avail this facility, a customer has to be a registered user for YONO, he said. Currently, YONO has 26 million registered users.

The bank said payments of up to Rs 2,000 can be made without entering a PIN. A secure certified near-field communication (NFC) chip embedded in the watch strap by Tappy Technologies enables all the functionalities of a standard contactless debit card of the bank. The payment feature on these watches will be accessible on over 2 million contactless MasterCard-enabled POS machines in the country.