Jawbone’s latest $199 Up4 fitness tracker lets you make payments via NFC
- apr
- 16
With Jawbone's Up3 fitness band now shipping, the company has announced its latest offering, the Up4, which comes with an NFC chip that allows you to tap and pay directly from your wrist.
At this stage, however, only American Express cardholders can avail the mobile payments service. The Up4 will be available sometime over the summer for $199, $20 higher than the asking price of the Up3. The fitness band has a similar feature-set on offer as the Up3, which includes heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking and differentiating between various forms of activity. Jawbone's Up app also comes with a coach feature that motivates you to achieve your daily workout goals.
Here's how Jawbone describes the mobile payments service, developed in collaboration with American Express:
Card Members with an UP4 tracker will be able to connect an eligible American Express Card via the latest UP app for iOS or Android:
- Open the UP app and select Payments in the Settings menu
- Log in with the same americanexpress.com User ID and Password used to manage your account online
- Select an eligible Card to connect to UP4 for payments
Once a Card Member has connected an eligible Card to the UP4 system, they can tap to pay with their wearable fitness tracker anywhere American Express contactless payments are accepted in the U.S. It's easy:
- Look for the contactless symbol on the in-store checkout terminal
- Tap the contactless symbol on the UP4 tracker to the terminal
- A confirmation on the terminal will signal a successful payment
Card Members who connect a Card to the UP app can manage it at any time in the Payments setting. In addition, Card Members who connect a Card will always be just a tap away from the Amex Mobile app, for instant access to enhanced account monitoring, servicing on the go, offers and benefits.
Transaction history will not be shown in the Up app, however, as American Express has mentioned that sensitive customer data will not be shared. As for security, the mobile payments solution uses a tokenization system that is similar to what Apple offers with Apple Pay.
While the Up4 offers a convenient way for existing American Express customers to pay from their wrist, lack of support for other vendors will be a roadblock for most potential buyers given the imminent arrival of Apple Watch, which also has tap to pay functionality and supports a wide array of banks and outlets.
Source: Jawbone
