Mastercard & boAt enable tap and pay functionality on wearables

By Gloria Mathias

Mastercard has announced its collaboration with boAt, India’s wearables brand, to enable tap and pay functionality on its devices. The partnership aims to democratise contactless payments and extend an unmatched user experience.

Mastercard cardholders using boAt’s payment-enabled smartwatches will be able to access this feature via Crest Pay, boAt’s official application for seamlessly making payments through wearable devices.

Cardholders will be able to tokenise (save card) their existing Mastercard debit and credit cards of all supported banks and enable tap-and-pay functionality on their boAt smartwatches. Tap and pay allows users to transact up to INR 5,000 via a POS device without adding a PIN, enhancing the element of convenience in everyday purchases. Powered by Mastercard’s device tokenisation capability, which uses cryptograms, these transactions are not only quick but are also highly secure.

This contactless payment feature will initially be available to Mastercard cardholders from select leading banks in the country and will eventually be extended to other banks.

India has witnessed continued growth in demand for wearable devices. In 2023, the country’s wearables market expanded by 34%. This led to smartwatch shipments surging to a 73.7% hike, resulting in nearly 54 million devices in the market.

Gautam Aggarwal, Division President, South Asia at Mastercard, said, “Delivering on the promise of inclusive and secure payments, Mastercard is thrilled to collaborate with boAt to power the launch of this innovative solution in the tap and pay segment. The collaboration integrates Mastercard’s trusted payment technology with boAt’s devices, enhancing user confidence in the wearable payment technology while extending an unmatched experience.”

Sameer Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of boAt, said, “At boAt, we are always striving to push the boundaries of technology to improve the lives of our customers. Our collaboration with Mastercard will help widen access to a consumer base that has continuously shown eagerness to adapt to newer modes of contactless payments.”