FeliCa-Enabled Wireless Watch

JCB, a leading international credit card brand, in cooperation with Casio, today launched a two-month trial of its new “Offica” wristwatch-based corporate solution. The Offica Watch [image] contains employee ID, access control, and cashless payment functions using Sony’s FeliCa contactless interface chip. Twenty-five JCB employees will use the Offica Watch instead of the current Offica card to access the JCB tower in central Tokyo, make purchases at company restaurants and stores, and carry out a variety of administrative functions.

The introduction of a wristwatch-based solution incorporating a suite of contactless chip functions is a first for Japan, and follows the trial of JCB’s innovative Mobile Offica. Mobile Offica is a mobile phone-based corporate solution provided in cooperation with NTT DoCoMo and launched at the beginning of 2004.

“This watch will improve convenience and user-friendliness for the wearers, as they don’t have to take something out of their pocket or purse to open a door or pay for coffee. We think this has particular advantages in environments such as manufacturing plants or amusement parks where people should be hands-free and not have to carry a lot of things around,” said Mr. Yuichi Momose, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Strategic Market Development Department at JCB. “We’ll be launching this solution commercially early next year, after a review of the two-month trial results.” Via: Japan Corp. News Network.