Fitbit smartwatch payments arrive in the UK
Fitbit has launched a contactless payment platform in the UK, following its launch in the US and other countries in recent weeks. The service is only available on the company's new Ionic smartwatches, and currently only supports payments from customers of the online Starling Bank, though more banks are expected to adopt the technology in the coming months.

Fitbit's first smartwatch can now make payments in the UK Only Starling Bank customers can use the feature right away, though.

Convenient contactless and mobile payment options are a dime a dozen these days, but that isn't discouraging Fitbit from throwing its keys into the bowl. After launching in the US and elsewhere during recent weeks, Fitbit Pay is now live in the UK, if not with a few catches. For starters you're going to need one of Fitbit's new £300 Ionic smartwatches, the company's first wearable that isn't geared solely towards activity tracking. Then there's the fact that at launch, it only supports Starling Bank, one of the UK's relatively new, branchless outfits that digs into your payment data to help you better manage your money from your mobile.

Fitbit Pay is available now with Starling Bank!

Use your Fitbit Ionic to make purchases on the go without a wallet or smartphone. pic.twitter.com/H7VXI9oJpa — Fitbit UnitedKingdom (@FitbitUK) October 24, 2017

Provided you fit within this pretty strict criteria, you can start using your new Ionic smartwatch to make contactless payments sans wallet or smartphone. We expect plenty more banks, including some of the bigger names, to play nice with Fitbit Pay before too long. That said, Barclays was notably slow in adopting Apple Pay and shunned Android Pay entirely in favour of its own mobile app, so even among some of the larger financial players, it's not always obvious how these things shake out.