A rubber band will let you tap and pay after a swim or surf
Australian telecommunications company Optus is pushing into the payment space with a rubber band that you can slap on your wrist to buy anything under A$100.
Using Visa Paywave technology, which is already commonplace in Australia, you can put the rubber band up to any terminal to pay for a product.
The "Cash by Optus" payment band, which comes in four colours and is free for the telco's customers, is simply a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip inside a rubber band which can be popped on your wrist. It officially launched in Australia on Thursday.
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The technology suits the Australian lifestyle as you can avoid taking cash with you on a run or to the beach. You also don't need your smartphone anywhere near you, so you can leave it at home while you head to the pool. The rubber exterior is designed to block water.
"Our payment accessories work using NFC technology, turning your device (or wrist!) into a waving, paying, convenience machine," the company said on its website.
To get it working, you have to download the free Cash by Optus app onto your Android or iOS phone, link the band to the app via a QR code, then top up your account with funds.
Unfortunately, you must be an Optus customer and it doesn't link directly to your bank account, meaning it can take days to get new funds onto the band. It can be set up to auto-recharge via direct debit or you can manually top up to a value of A$500.
The company has also released an NFC sticker which can attach to the back of your phone, so you can act like you have Apple Pay, just with more banks available (to the sadness of regular people, Apple Pay launched in Australia with only American Express available).
Optus isn't alone with its contactless payment technology -- Google announced in December it is bringing Android Pay to the Australian market sometime in 2016, while the major banks have their own products, including Commonwealth Bank's stickers.
Run, swim, tap. Sounds like a plan.
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Jenni Ryall is Mashable's VP of Content Strategy. She spends her time launching cool, new things such as Mashable Deals and Mashable Reels. On the other days, she is developing strong partnerships with companies including Apple News, Flipboard, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit.
