Dan Pražák While we are still waiting for Apple Pay, Komerční banka is offering its clients the possibility to pay contactless from today through the competing services Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay. Both payment methods are available on select models of Garmin and Fitbit smartwatches. In this way, contactless payments through smart accessories are also available to Czech Apple users for the first time, as both services can be set up in the iPhone application. But Komerční banka also revealed that it wants to launch Apple Pay soon.
For more than a year, Android users have been able to pay with their smartphones via Google Pay. This September, the range of services was greatly expanded and MONETA Money Bank became the first domestic bank to support Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay. Now Komerční banka is also joining it, which allows owners of the respective smart watch models to add a debit or credit card in the Fitbit and Garmin Connect applications. Users can then easily pay with their watch at contactless terminals at retailers.
Garmin Pay is available for Garmin Vívoactive 3, Forerunner 645, Fénix 5 Plus and D2 Delta models. Fitbit Pay is supported by watches from the Ftbit Ionic, Versa model series, and now also the Charge 3 smart bracelet.
However, Apple Pay also counts. Monika Truchliková, who heads the Tribe Cash, Cards and ATMs department at Komerční banka, promised that the bank should soon offer the payment service from Apple to its clients:
"The application for Garmin and Fibit watches fits into our wave of innovation that we started in 2016, for example with smartphone payments and the subsequent transition to Google Pay, logging in and confirming transactions in mobile banking with fingerprint or Face ID, controlling the account via Apple Watch, etc. . We would like to complete this wave soon with the launch of Apple Pay."
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The banks cannot reveal exactly when Apple Pay should be available on the Czech market. However, according to some information, we could see the launch already at the beginning of the year, probably at the turn of January or February. The fact that the launch of Apple Pay support in the Czech Republic is really imminent is also proven by the testing that banks have carried out in the previous months. For example, Komerční banka accidentally made the service available to some clients for a few hours.
mBank employees are already using it on a trial basis. It will not be seen here.