Modern life appears to be all about convenience. As a society we appear to be heading towards using less and less actual cash.Indeed, in some respects it could be argued that we have moved away from the old maxim of “cash is king”.
Perhaps we should try and reinvent this saying to something along the lines of “plastic or digital payments are the way forward!” Either way, I think we can all agree that convenience is becoming more and more important in our lives.
It therefore, comes as no surprise that more and more companies are embracing technology in an attempt to provide convenience to their customers.
With this in mind, Garmin have introduced and adopted Garmin Pay into their stratosphere.
What is Garmin Pay?
Garmin Pay is a contactless payment method introduced by Garmin. The idea is that you can leave your phone and wallet behind and use your Garmin watch to pay for stuff at the mall or grocery store.
In essence, it works in a similar fashion to services offered by Apple Pay and Google Pay. The only difference being is that you’ll need a Garmin device to be able to use the payment method.
How easy is it set up Garmin Pay properly?
In order to set up and have Garmin Pay working correctly there are a few steps that you will need to take. Don’t worry it’s pretty straightforward and self explanatory.
If you are using a Garmin watch, then you’r probably familiar with the Garmin Connect app. If you’re not, then you will need to download the app onto your smartphone.
- Open the Garmin Connect App on your smartphone
- Go to Garmin Devices (about halfway down the main screen)
- Choose your Device e.g Garmin Fenix 7s
- Select ‘Garmin Pay’
- Choose ‘Create Your Wallet’
- Create a Four Digit Passcode (this is what will secure your Garmin wallet on your device)
- Next you will need to add a payment card to your wallet
- Choose the Card Type- fill in your details and if required verify your identity
- Complete Verification Process – follow the onscreen prompts using a verification code
- And that’s it, you have set up Garmin Pay on your watch!
How do you use Garmin Pay?
Making payments with Garmin Pay is both easy and straightforward.
All you need do is press and hold the light key on your Garmin watch. Scroll the wheel of icons until you land on the virtual wallet symbol.
Press select and enter your passcode. You can then hold your watch close to the contactless payment terminal as you would normally do with your credit or debit card.
Once payment is complete the sellers payment terminal will probably beep and begin to print out your receipt. Your Garmin watch will show a green progress bar on the perimeter of the watch face, along with a green tick on the screen. Once you see these you know that the payment has been made successfully.
Where Can I Use Garmin Pay?
You can use Garmin Pay at any store where you see the contactless symbol payment sign. If you see the contactless wave sign within the store then you’ll be able to use your Garmin watch to make payments.
Benefits of Garmin Pay
In our view, the biggest benefit of having a Garmin Pay enabled fitness watch is that you can leave your wallet at home. This is particularly useful if you’re out on a run or cycle. how many times have you wanted a sports drink from the local garage or 7/11 store after a gruelling run.
Perhaps you might just fancy a coffee with a friend on the way home, or you just need to pick up milk. Either way it provides a more convenient way to pay for your purchases.
Which devices can use Garmin Pay?
There are currently around 62 Garmin Pay compatible smartwatches. Not all of their watches include this feature, but an increasing number of them do.
Here is the latest list of Garmin Pay compatible watches:
Garmin Running Watches
- Garmin Forerunner 255
- Garmin Forerunner 255S
- Garmin Forerunner 255 Music
- Garmin Forerunner 255S Music
- Garmin Forerunner 745
- Garmin Forerunner 945
- Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE
Garmin Diving Watches
- Garmin Decent G1
- Garmin Decent G1 Solar
- Garmin Decent Mk 2
- Garmin Decent Mk 2 S
- Garmin Decent Mk i
Garmin Fenix Range
- Garmin Fenix 6 Standard Edition
- Garmin Fenix 6 Pro & Sapphire Editions
- Garmin Fenix 6S Pro Solar Edition
- Garmin Fenix 6S Pro & Sapphire Editions
- Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar Edition
- Garmin Fenix 6X Pro & Sapphire Editions
- Garmin Fenix 7 Standard Edition
- Garmin Fenix 7 Solar Edition
- Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar Edition
- Garmin Fenix 7S Standard Edition
- Garmin Fenix 7S Solar Edition
- Garmin Fenix 7S Sapphire Solar Edition
- Garmin Fenix 7X Solar Edition
- Garmin Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar Edition
Garmin Golf Watches
- Garmin Approach S62
Garmin Fitness Watches
- Garmin Venu 2
- Garmin Venu 2S
- Garmin Venu 2 Plus
- Garmin Venu SQ
- Garmin Venu SQ Music Edition
- Garmin VivoActive 4
- Garmin VivoActive 4S
Is My Bank Compatible With Garmin Pay?
Garmin Pay doesn’t work with every bank, but it does work with a lot of different financial institutions and banking services across the globe. If you want to specifically check compatibility with your debit or credit cards then check out the rather long list here.
If you have a MasterCard or Visa sign on your bank cards, then they will be compatible with Garmin’s contactless payment system.
Is Garmin Pay Safe and Secure?
In short, yes Garmin Pay is a secure platform for making payments. The payment platform uses device specific card and transaction codes and numbers each and every time you buy something. Your card number is not stored on your watch, nor on Garmin’s servers; meaning that your details are secure.
If, however, you accidentally input the incorrect passcode three times, then your Garmin Wallet will be locked. In order to unlock it you’ll have to follow the instructions within the Garmin Connect App on your smartphone.
If you still can’t remember your passcode then the wallet will be deleted and you’ll need to set up a new wallet.This may seem to be somewhat of an inconvenience but imagine if a thief was trying to access your wallet. This is an important safety feature that should keep your wallet safer.
Good To Know
Hopefully this article has been useful in explaining what is Garmin Pay? How to set up Garmin Pay as well as how to use Garmin Pay?
There are also a couple of other benefits of using Garmin Pay that are worthy of mention:
Paying for your Journey
Did you know that you can now use Garmin Pay for your daily commute?
There are a number of transit systems, mainly in large urban areas such as London and New York, accepting Garmin Pay as a method of payment. This means that you’ll be able to make a contactless payment using your watch in order to access the transportation system.
Here are some of the transportation systems that accept Garmin Pay:
- United States – New York City, Chicago and Portland
- United Kingdom – London and Manchester
- Canada – Vancouver
- Australia – Sydney
