Westpac and FitPay Extend Contactless Payments to More Devices

With the contactless payment market expected to touch US$17.56 billion by 2021, Westpac (ASX:WBC) and FitPay announced an agreement on Wednesday (June 20) that will enable the companies to cash in on the emerging platform.

The agreement between FitPay, a subsidiary of NXT-ID (NASDAQ:NXTD), and Westpac will allow customers of Australia’s oldest bank to make secure contactless payments from internet of things and wearable devices, including smartwatches from Garmin International (NASDAQ:GRMN).

FitPay said the platform uses tokenization, a payment security technology that replaces cardholders’ account information with a unique digital identifier to transact highly secure contactless payments.

Westpac will participate in FitPay’s token requester program, which lets cardholders securely add their payment credentials to devices. Consumers can pay at near-field, communication-enabled point-of-sale terminals with a simple tap.

“Extending payments to more devices gives Westpac customers greater flexibility in how they pay and helps fit how they pay more seamlessly into how they live,” Michael Orlando, COO of NXT ID and president of Fit Pay, said in the release.

The companies noted that contactless payment capabilities extend to a range of new devices that are integrated with FitPay’s token management solution. The latest devices from Garmin with Garmin Pay enabled are some of the devices that can take advantage of contactless payments.

Garmin Pay, which is powered by FitPay, is enabled on devices like vívoactive, Vivoactive 3 Music, the Forerunner 645, the Forerunner 645 music and the fenix 5 Plus series.

According to a report from MarketsandMarkets, the size of the contactless payment market is expected to grow from US$6.7 billion in 2016 to US$17.56 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 21.2 percent during the forecast period.

Following the announcement on Wednesday, shares of NXT-ID were up 7 percent over the one-day trading period to close at US$1.74 The stock had a volume of over 447,000. TipRanks has a “moderate buy” ranking on the stock with an analyst target price of US$4.50.

NXT-ID has a “sell” ranking on TradingView with 13 verticals against it, 10 neutral and three in favor.

Meanwhile, shares of Westpac were up 2.8 percent and closed trading on Wednesday at AU$28.81. The stock has a “buy” ranking ranking on TradingView with 12 verticals in favor, nine neutral and five against.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Bala Yogesh, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.