Because we carry our phones with us all the time that it makes sense to include mobile payment functionality on them. However what about those times it’s not convenient to bring our phones? Like at the beach or a festival where it could be easily stolen or dropped? Thanks to WaveShades, that will soon be a problem of the past.
Put together by Australian startup Inamo, sunglasses-maker Local Supply, and Visa, WaveShades are basically a pair of sunglasses with mobile payments built into it. This means that instead of a smartwatch or a phone, you can just take your sunglasses off your face, tap it against a terminal and you’re good to go. It is expected to make its debut at Australia’s Laneway music festivals.
As CNET points out, contactless payments in Australia isn’t exactly a new concept and has been around for a while. For many years the country has supported contactless payments where customers can wave their credit/debit cards over terminals to make payments, so safe to say that the technology is familiar with Australians living in the country.
It is also why quite a few of the major banks weren’t too thrilled when Apple tried to muscle in with Apple Pay when they’ve already established their own system. We’re not sure if these WaveShades will ever find their way into other markets, but it is an interesting idea.
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