Visa launches Garmin Pay in Thailand
Visa, a leader in digital payments, and Garmin, in partnership with leading financial institutions, on Thursday announced the launch of Garmin Pay, a new contactless payment feature on Garmin smartwatches.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the company said that starting on Thursday, customers of Kasikornbank, Krungthai Card and Siam Commercial Bank can add their Visa credit or debit card to their Garmin smartwatches, while Bangkok Bank is in line to launch by first quarter 2019.
The company said that the feature offers a new cashless experience, where purchases can be made seamlessly at growing contactless-accepted merchant locations. The emergence of payment innovation and technology mark yet another milestone helping to transform Thailand into a less-cash society.
Suripong Tantiyanon, Visa country manager for Thailand said: “Visa is pleased to support the launch of Garmin Pay, bringing Visa contactless payments to Garmin smartwatches in Thailand. Visa believes payments wearables are the future of fast, simple and secure payments, for people who lead an active lifestyle.
“According to Visa’s “sweaty money” survey[1], 57 per cent of people who bring cash or a payment card along on their workouts are stashing it somewhere uncomfortable and inconvenient. Garmin Pay will be a welcome solution for anyone looking for an effortless way to pay while on the go.
“This launch is another milestone in Visa’s commitment to continue providing payment innovations and experiences across a wide range of form factors to consumers in Thailand.”
Krairop Luang U-Thai, General Manager of GIS, the authorised distributor of Garmin products in Thailand said: “Garmin Pay is the latest feature on the Garmin smartwatch. Select the credit card you want to connect to the watch and create the Garmin Pay Wallet by filling in the card information on the Garmin Connect application along with your passcode.
“All customers then have to do is place their wrist near a card reader that supports contactless payments to purchase goods and services. Garmin Pay uses tokenisation offered by the global payment networks to secure users’ information. The tokenised data is saved in an isolated safety chip which is in device, so to keep sensitive data from malware or virus. In addition to Thailand, Garmin Pay is also currently available in 22 countries around the world.”