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Financial tech startup Fit Pay recently launched a new Kickstarter for its third-party Pebble Time "smartstrap" called the Pagaré. The new accessory will bring NFC payment capabilities to the smartwatch, using the power of the Pebble's smart accessory port, giving Pebble Time the same mobile wallet opportunities allowed to Apple Watch customers thanks to Apple Pay.

The Pagaré smartstrap will come in all of the same colors and finishes that Pebble creates for the Pebble Time, so that "you won't have to sacrifice your style to receive the benefits of Pagaré," according to Fit Pay co-founder and CEO Mike Orlando. The strap runs on its own battery, so with a small USB connector on one end, users will be able to charge the Pagaré smartstrap and the Pebble Time simultaneously.


Fit Pay said that its new smartstrap will be able to be used "at over 9 million point of sale terminals worldwide," including places like GameStop, Panera Bread, and Whole Foods. Similar to the Apple Watch, when the Pagaré is removed from a user's wrist it locks access to any of the payment features of the band. A four-digit passcode reactivates those features when the Pebble Time is reattached.
Pagaré has multiple layers of security to protect sensitive data. In addition to secure hardware, we leverage the same card network service as Apple Pay to replace your card number with a surrogate value called a token. This means we never need to store your credit card.
Notably, once the Pagaré app is installed on a user's phone and credit cards are scanned in, the new accessory is "a completely phone-free solution." Users will be able to pay at compatible NFC terminals using Pagaré without having their smartphone nearby. The company is looking to the future, as well, with plans to introduce transit and entertainment ticket options into the Pagaré suite of tools if the Kickstarter gets funded.

pebble-time-strap-pagare.jpg

As of writing, the campaign sits at just over a $26,000 funded level with a goal of $120,000 over the next 29 days. Users interested can get in on an early bird discount of the Pagaré for $49, and once those are gone the band will cost $69 at retail price. Higher early bird reward tiers bundle in the Pebble Time ($199), Pebble Time Steel ($249), and Pebble Time Round ($249) alongside a Pagaré smartstrap.

Article Link: Pagaré Smartstrap Plans to Bring Contactless Payments to Pebble Time
 
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stiligFox

macrumors 65816
Apr 24, 2009
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I'd be down for this, but I just got a metal link band for my Pebble :l It would be nice if it could work with current bands, but I understand that the tech at this point probably limits that.
 

2457282

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Dec 6, 2012
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Pagaré is Spanish for "(I will) pay." With Pebble Steel and Round, plus this band you are already paying $300. For that price, why not spend an extra $50 and get the Apple watch? It is way more functional.
 

0098386

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Jan 18, 2005
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This is a silly idea.

Pagaré is Spanish for "(I will) pay." With Pebble Steel and Round, plus this band you are already paying $300. For that price, why not spend an extra $50 and get the Apple watch? It is way more functional.
Pricing aside, I prefer my Pebble because of its longer battery life and water resistance. (once Apple Watch gets those features I'll switch)
 

2457282

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Dec 6, 2012
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Pricing aside, I prefer my Pebble because of its longer battery life and water resistance. (once Apple Watch gets those features I'll switch)
Well I certainly respect your decision. And if you already own a pebble then $49 to add NFC may not be a horrible idea. For me, I can state that battery and water resistance have not been an issue with the watch, but I also don't need to track my sleep, so charging while I sleep works well. And from what I have seen, unless you are diving, the Apple watch works fine in water (like a shower or swimming laps). I have gotten my Apple watch wet a few time while washing my hands and it has never been a concern.
 

fitshaced

macrumors 68000
Jul 2, 2011
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Not as secure as the Apple Watch though which disables Apple Pay once the skin contact is broken. In fact, as it's very common for watches to be stolen off wrists, this might be far too insecure. Even with an iphone you need finger print input. My advice would be to not buy this.
 

0098386

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Jan 18, 2005
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Well I certainly respect your decision. And if you already own a pebble then $49 to add NFC may not be a horrible idea. For me, I can state that battery and water resistance have not been an issue with the watch, but I also don't need to track my sleep, so charging while I sleep works well. And from what I have seen, unless you are diving, the Apple watch works fine in water (like a shower or swimming laps). I have gotten my Apple watch wet a few time while washing my hands and it has never been a concern.

I've heard the Apple Watch is good with water, having pored over videos of it being pushed to its limits. But until they have one that specifically states it has metres worth of depth resistance then I don't trust the watch or Apple. No doubt future models will be water resistant. I swim in a fun pool frequently so water pressure against the device varies a lot and I don't want to risk that.

In regards to days worth of battery life, it's not for tracking sleep for me, but for the safety knowing that if I forget to charge it or if I'm away then I don't need to pack my watches charger too. Just makes things simple. But this is one factor I worry Apple will never "address". For years they haven't taken steps to give us more than 1 days worth of battery life in their phones; I doubt they'll do it with their watch.
 

Anonymous Freak

macrumors 603
Dec 12, 2002
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Pricing aside, I prefer my Pebble because of its longer battery life and water resistance. (once Apple Watch gets those features I'll switch)

Or the fact that I have already paid for the Pebble, so it's only an extra $50, as opposed to selling my Pebble for a loss and paying much more for a new Apple Watch...


Not as secure as the Apple Watch though which disables Apple Pay once the skin contact is broken. In fact, as it's very common for watches to be stolen off wrists, this might be far too insecure. Even with an iphone you need finger print input. My advice would be to not buy this.

If you read the linked description, it *DOES* disable when you remove the watch. It has sensors in the band that can tell when the band has been latched shut. You then enter a PIN on the watch to unlock payments. Once the watch band has been opened (to remove the watch,) it disables until it is re-latched and the PIN is re-entered.

Also, how common is it, really for watches to be stolen off wrists? And for the thief to know that the watch has this capability? Apple Watches, sure, but not many people know what a Pebble is, and even fewer will know what this is. Not to mention the fact that when on a wrist, you can't tell this from a standard watch band.


Personally, I doubt this will take off simply because there is no central large payment authority behind it like Apple Pay, Android Pay, or Samsung Pay. Android Pay already has few enough retail outlets that support it, each such contactless payment system (other than Samsung's unique "send a signal as if it were a magnetic stripe swipe" system,) requires a lot of back end to set up, with deals with individual card issuers (banks.) I just can't see this getting nearly as many banks to support it as other systems. As it stands now, most of my banking is through a relatively small local credit union. The physical card has a Visa logo, so is accepted nearly everywhere. It took them over a year from Apple Pay's introduction to support it. I can pretty much guarantee they'll never support this.
 

WarHeadz

macrumors 6502a
Aug 30, 2015
904
5,192
Long Beach, California
Way too much effort put into this bad idea. Your ability to make mobile payments on your smartwatch shouldn't depend on the band you're wearing that day. I'm sure Pebble will build NFC into the next gen watches anyway.
 

AtomicDusk

macrumors regular
Jul 24, 2014
195
538
San Diego
Pagaré is Spanish for "(I will) pay." With Pebble Steel and Round, plus this band you are already paying $300. For that price, why not spend an extra $50 and get the Apple watch? It is way more functional.


Heck! Apple Watches are even $100 off at target right now. I was, and am, so very tempted to get one at that price, but with a rumored announcement about... something... I think it may be more prudent to wait.
 
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