Visa’s Future So Bright, You Gotta Wear Shades

In a simultaneous announcements made at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX and at the World Surf League (WSL) 2017 Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Gold Coast completion in Australia, Visa debuted its latest wearable: payments enabled sunglasses.

Visa strategically debuted their sunglasses, currently only a prototype unavailable for retail sale, at youth-culture fueled events popular with millennials who are 30% more likely to adopt wearables than older consumers. Visa’s stylish sunglasses have the appearance of traditional eye-wear, but feature an NFC chip built into one arm, allowing users to connect their Visa card, and then easily tap to pay – a perfect solution for the beach or festival-goer who may lack pockets. After testing the product for consumer demand, Visa may seek sponsorships and partnerships with banks or eye-wear brands to bring this new wearable to market.

Read more about Visa’s partnership with WSL and the company’s payments shades here.