Premiere in Romania: Banca Transilvania and Garmin launch the contactless payment option through smartwatch
20 November 2018 Reading time 4:00 minutes

● BT customers now have 6 shopping payment alternatives at merchants ●
Banca Transilvania and Garmin launch, for the first time on the Romanian market, the contactless payment option through smartwatch: the possibility to shop with the Garmin smartwatch that has the Pay option, by connecting the Visa BT cards with it.
Through the new payment option at merchants, Transilvania Bank's customers have access to all the functionalities and benefits they receive when paying with their physical or digital card from the BT Pay application, namely: STAR loyalty points (for shopping cards), respectively Miles Prize (for travel cards).
With this launch together with Garmin, Banca Transilvania is taking another step in the direction of digitizing and offering positive experiences to customers, who now have no less than 6 shopping payment alternatives: with the physical card, with the digital card from the BT Pay application, with one of the accessories of the BT Pay collection (watch, bracelet, sticker – all contactless) and, from now on, including with the Garmin smartwatch.
BT, Garmin and Visa Statements:
- "We are pleased to add Garmin Pay to the range of payment options for Banca Transilvania's customers. As more and more people include movement in their daily lives, their needs become more and more different, moving towards simple and convenient options. Such would be the freedom to shop with the smartwach at the end of a workout or a walk, without having to have cash, card or even phone with us. This new option completes the mobile payment solutions in BT's portfolio and confirms our commitment to expand digital options by adapting to changes in the lifestyle of our customers." – Oana Ilas, Director Development & Retail Products Management, Banca Transilvania.
- " I'm glad we can announce Garmin Pay in Romania very shortly after launching on western markets. It is an extremely useful tool for those with an active lifestyle and for athletes who permanently need mobility. Garmin Pay is available on a series of Garmin smartwatches, and will be developed on new models with the launches of 2019". – Alexandru Moise, Sales & Marketing Manager Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and The Republic of Moldova, Garmin.
- "We are happy to take today, together with Banca Transilvania, another step forward in our commitment to make payments as simple as possible for consumers and to transform connected devices into a safe environment for payments. The launch of contactless payments through smartwatches represents a natural step in the long-term partnership we have with Banca Transilvania, the first bank in South-Eastern Europe that launched earlier this year the payment with the secure mobile phone with the help of Visa's tokenization technology. Romanians have become accustomed in recent years to contactless payments, which offer undeniable advantages: speed, ease and simplicity. Small electronic devices worn as accessories take all these advantages and go even further: they are in constant contact with the user and are naturally integrated into his actions, so the payment experience is intuitive and secure. " – Catalin Cretu, general manager for Romania, Croatia, Malta and Slovenia within Visa.
5 steps to enroll the BT Visa card in the smartwatch
BT customers need a compatible device and a Garmin account, enrolled in the smartphone. Enrolling the BT Visa card(s) in the application means 5 simple steps:
- Selecting your device and Garmin Pay option in the Garmin Devices section
- Select a security code
- Adding Visa card details or scanning it using your phone's camera
- Acceptance of terms and conditions of use
- Activate your BT Visa card in Garmin Pay by calling the BT Call Center team (0264 30 80 28; *8028)
Banca Transilvania is the leader of cards in Romania, with 3.2 million cards in its portfolio and 19% market share.
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