By Business & Finance 
Paying on the go has never been easier – KBC launches new digital wallet collaboration with Garmin Pay
In the latest in a number of innovations, KBC Bank Ireland has launched Garmin Pay for its customers in Ireland. KBC is the only bank in Ireland to offer digital wallets from four of the world’s leading technology companies; Apple Pay, Google Pay, FitBit Pay and now Garmin Pay. The latest development builds on KBC’s drive to transform banking in response to customer demand for easy, secure, digitally-led solutions.
Digital wallets on your watch
This newest contactless payment solution from popular sports device company Garmin will see KBC Bank Current Account and Credit Card customers able to pay for goods and services on the move using their Garmin smart watch, with both the Forerunner 645 and Vivoactive 3 models compatible.
The Garmin Pay technology works at any point of sale terminal where contactless payment is available. The customer simply selects their KBC card from their digital wallet, taps the watch face against the payment terminal in store and verifies the transaction using a four-digit code. Garmin Pay is powered by FitBit Pay, one of the digital wallets already available to KBC customers.
Eddie Dillon, Director of Innovation, KBC Bank Ireland.
Eddie Dillon, Director of Innovation, KBC Bank Ireland, said:
For KBC customers, the launch of Garmin Pay is about combining fitness, lifestyle and banking in a way that works for the modern consumer. As a society, we’re rapidly moving towards mobile tap and go payments, using our watches, fitness trackers and smart phones to do everything from pay for a coffee to apply for a personal loan. The future of banking is changing, and KBC is responding fast.
Security for your digital wallet
Statistics show that KBC customers are highly engaged when it comes to digital banking. Mobile log-ins have increased 49% year-on-year and transactions from KBC’s mobile app are up by 58% year-on-year compared to Q1 last year.
Sonya Geelon, Head of Mastercard in Ireland said: “KBC is very progressive in its approach to bringing new digital experiences to its customers, and we are keen to support them by making transactions secure and easy. Encryption technology allows us to create what we call ‘digital tokens’ on wearables and other devices. This means that no card details are shared with retailers when making a payment, because they aren’t even stored on the device. These levels of security allow us to create new ways to pay so consumers have greater choice and greater convenience.”
Personal loans available through phones
During the last quarter, KBC also launched a unique digital lending proposition which enables new and existing Current Account customers to apply for a personal loan and/or overdraft, receive a credit decision on their application and the cash in their account within the hour – all from their mobile phone. Overdrafts of between €300 and €7,000 and personal loans of between €5,000 and €20,000 are available.
Co-designed with Irish consumers, this latest development from KBC is the first of its kind in the market and comes in response to growing customer demand for digital solutions that combine faster credit decision times with a seamless application and approval process. This followed the successful launch in September 2017 of a five-minute onboarding app that allows consumers to open a current account from application to active in five steps. This takes just five minutes using a mobile phone—a completely new technology that has revolutionised banking.
Underpinning the pace of development in digital at KBC is the bank’s deepening collaboration with fintechs and consumer tech brands led by its Innovation Hub in Dublin and enabled by KBC Group’s €1.5 billion investment in transforming the bank’s digital capabilities European-wide.
