Pagaré Kickstarter gives Pebble Time smartwatch contactless payment

Alan Martin February 11, 2016

The Pebble Time is a very nice smartwatch indeed, but one thing you can’t do is swipe it against contactless payment points like your Apple Watch-toting brethren. Well, you can, but nothing will happen, aside from the queue behind you getting increasingly angry.

Pagaré Kickstarter gives Pebble Time smartwatch contactless payment

That’s all about to change, with a third-party Kickstarter bringing NFC contactless payment to the smartwatch through a rather clever strap. Pagaré has already raised over £65,000 in two days, with just £17,000 to go until it makes its funding target.

Looking indistinguishable from regular Pebble Time straps, the Pagaré offers support for multiple cards and doesn’t need you to have your phone with you. You need to enter a four-digit PIN when you first put on the watch – if it leaves your wrist, it’ll need to be re-entered before you can pay again, giving it a layer of extra security should your watch be stolen.

“Ahhh,” you say, “but what if my Pebble Time runs out of battery while I’m out without my wallet?” Pagaré has you covered: the strap has a rather cunning USB charger hidden away in the strap. pagare_hidden_usb_charger

The add-on has the full support of the Pebble team, with Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky popping up in the video to offer his endorsement. “This game-changing smart strap has the opportunity to bring a whole new world of possibilities to the Pebble Time series. Pebble has put its full support behind Pagaré and Fit Pay,” Migicovsky says in the video.

The timeline currently has the first units due to ship in July, and it’ll support all Pebble Time smartwatches, including the Pebble Time Round. Sadly for first generation Pebblers, you’re not supported, but if you were ever looking for an excuse to upgrade, this might just be it…