First National Bank clients who own certain Garmin and Fitbit smartwatches can now use them to “tap to pay” at retail outlets where tap-based payments are supported.

The bank said in a statement on Thursday that customers can now make payments through their Visa-based bank cards at any contactless-enabled point-of-sale device.

“To make payment, a customer simply selects the wallet feature and then taps their wearable on the contactless point of sale, just as they would when paying with their FNB Pay-enabled smartphone or their contactless card,” it said.

Multiple layers of security, including encryption and “tokenisation”, make this “one of the most secure methods of making a payment”.

“Customers can rest assured that their card details will remain private and secure as they will never be shared with retailers, Fitbit or Garmin,” the bank said.

As a further security measure, whenever the Fitbit or Garmin device leaves your wrist, you will be required to enter your wearable passcode once placed back on your wrist in order to reactivate the functionality.

“The device stays authenticated for 24 hours or until you take it off your wrist,” FNB said in the statement.

“In addition, the point-of-sale device will also prompt you to enter your card Pin for certain transactions.”

This payment solution is available to existing FNB/RMB Private Bank cardholders who have a compatible Fitbit or Garmin device and have downloaded the Fitbit or Garmin app onto their cellphones. — (c) 2018 NewsCentral Media