Swatch Mobile-Payment Watch Debuts In China

Traditional watch makers have not been so eager to jump head on into the smartwatch buzz but the advancement of mobile payment might be giving them second thoughts.

SWATCH BELLAMY celebrated its worldwide premiere at a press conference held October 14, 2015 at The Swatch Art Peace Hotel on the Bund in Shanghai.

The Swatch Bellamy is rolling out slowly and will be available in China first in January 2016 – but it’s heading to the United States and Switzerland at a later undisclosed date.

“It is important for Swatch to have its own version of the “smartwatch”, as Apple and other technology companies seek to build beachheads on the left wrist”, Analyst Luca Solca of Exane BNP Paribas said of Swatch’s introduction of Bellamy.

Swatch was able to cut a deal with Bank of Communications Co., which means that customers will be able to make payments in stores that have China UnionPay Co’s point-of-sale machines. Swatch will also be teaming up with Bank of Communications, one of China’s big-five banks. It will then be rolled out to Switzerland and the U.S.at a later date.

The product adds to the competition faced by Apple Inc.’s smartwatch, which has payment capabilities but isn’t linked in to the Unionpay network. The Swatch Bellamy not only has a well-known brand, but more importantly, it will sell for well below those rival watches too.

The Swatch Bellamy uses NFC technology which uses high-frequency radio waves to enable electronic devices to communicate over short distances.