CaixaBank and Gemalto Push Payments Wristband to Public

A future where consumers make payments with wearable devices is not far off, especially in Spain where CaixaBank is working with Gemalto to launch a contactless EMV payment wristband.

Gemalto, a digital security provider, will be supplying CaixaBank, which has approximately 13.2 million customers, with its Optelio Contactless MiniTag. The contactless tag, which is certified by international payment schemes, can be used at more than 300,000 payment terminals in Spain.

The MiniTag will be inserted into a slot in the wristband and will be linked to a user's bank-issued payment card. Users will make payments up to 20 euros with just a tap of their wrist, but transactions above 20 euros must be authenticated with a PIN.

Around 70 million wearable devices are projected to be sold a little over two years from now in 2017, according to a report from Juniper Research.

"In line with this major global trend, CaixaBank's new product launch re-enforces their pioneering spirit, well proven in providing innovative technologies such as contactless cards, mobile services and now wearable devices, so as to always offer their customers the payment method that best fits their needs," said Philippe Cambriel, president for Europe, Mediterranean and CIS at Gemalto, in an Oct. 9 press release.

CaixaBank delivered preliminary wristbands to contactless card users in the summer. There are more than four million CaixaBank contactless EMV payment cards in circulation.

The Barcelona-based bank is known for being innovative. In May, CaixaBank began allowing customers to monitor their bank account and obtain payment cards through a Facebook application, and

Wearable payment technology is still relatively new to the financial services sector, but CaixaBank, along with Westpac in New Zealand and Barclays in the U.K. are developing wearable technology for mobile banking and contactless payments.