Olympic Athletes To Sport Visa's New Payment Ring In Rio (engadget.com)

An anonymous reader writes from a report via Engadget: Visa is introducing a new ring at the Olympic Games in Rio that will let people pay for things by waving their hand -- no phone, wallet, or battery is needed. The ring, which has yet to be named, features a secure microchip from Gemalto, and an embedded antenna. It is crafted of black or white ceramic, as metal would interfere with the antenna. There will be 20 sizes available during its trial run where it will be available exclusively for employees and partners, as well as the 45 athletes sponsored by Visa. The athletes inspired the creation of the ring, as wallets and typical wearables can be an annoyance to them when they're constantly changing uniforms. The ring is even fit for Olympic swimmers, as it is water resistant up to 50 meters. It never needs to be charged since it draws a tiny amount of power from the payment terminal and transmits far less data than Apple Pay or Android Pay. As for security, the ring can be deactivated from a smartphone, and thanks to tokenization, sensitive data is replaced by a digital identifier that can be used to process payments, so thieves won't be able to use it. There has been some controversy surrounding the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Some doctors have warned that the games could spark a "full-blow public health disaster" with the spread of the Zika virus.

Comments

Only 50m

[C3lt]

Unfortunately it is only "water resistant up to 50 meters" and most Olympic swimming events involve swimming more than a single length of the pool.

Re: Only 50m

[Applehu Akbar]

I don't think that's what it means. That refers to the static test pressure for new devices, not a swimming distance.

What's "Whoosh" in Portuguese?

barcode

[Orgasmatron]

So, this is a fancy RFID tag then? Basically, you wave your radio-barcode through the induction field and the payment terminal then goes online using the ring's serial number instead of your credit card number?

Ooh, future.

Re:Solution looking for a problem

[fahrbot-bot]

Let's see you keep a wallet with cash in your Olympic sized Speedo while you're between races.

Depending on how large the available rings, male swimmers could carry them *in* their Speedo -- though waving it at or plunking it down on the pos-terminal may be problematic. No word yet on whether Visa will be offering a version of the ring suitable for piercings.

Re: Solution looking for a problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Condoms. The Olympics are basically a two-week orgy which is why Zika is going to be a problem.