A start-up company's contactless-payment wristbands have gained the backing of the Visa brand under a product launch announced July 27.
Vita Products Inc. is offering the Vitaband identification and payment wristband that features Visa Inc.'s payWave-enabled contactless chip. The Bancorp Bank of Wilmington, Del., is issuing the product, which accesses a prepaid account established when consumers buy the bands.
Bancorp Bank officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp earlier this month announced testing of a similar Vitaband wristband that combines contactless MasterCard PayPass payments with an emergency medical notification device (see related
With both products, consumers may use the wristbands to initiate purchases at merchant locations that accept contactless payments from the respective card brands.
Philadelphia-based Vita Products initially is making Vitabands issued by Bancorp Bank available for sale online in various colors for $30.90; additional or replacement bands cost $19.95.
The price for a new band includes a one-year subscription to the Emergency Response Profile service. Once the first year's subscription expires, the annual renewal cost for the service is $19.95, according to the Vitaband.net site. In an emergency, responders would call a number printed on the band to access the wearer's profile.
"Vitaband has broken new ground in the consumer electronic category by combining both access to digital health records as well as a payment capability in one, streamlined device," Jason Brown, Vita Product president and co-founder, said in a July 27 news release.
