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BBK, Bahrain’s pioneer in retail and commercial banking, is announcing its latest collaboration with Visa, Fitbit & Garmin and offering contactless payments to its BBK debit cardholders with Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay.

The announcement is part of the bank’s digital transformation strategy and ongoing commitment to present its customers with exceptional financial solutions and latest digital solutions to enhance their banking experience.

This new service will enable the Bank’s customers to make contactless payments in a smooth, secure and safe manner via NFC-enabled point of sale (POS) machines, or wherever they see the contactless payment symbol, using their compatible Fitbit and Garmin wearables within Kingdom of Bahrain and abroad. The Fitbit Pay app is available on select Fitbit wearables, including the Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Versa 3, Fitbit Versa 2 smartwatches, and Fitbit Charge 4. The Garmin Pay app is available on 50 Garmin Pay compatible watches including the high end MARQ®- or Fenix® -series, diving watch Descent® MK2, the running watches such as Forerunner® 945 and 745 as well as the wellness line-up series Venu® and Vivoactive® with the largest portfolio of wearable devices on the market.

Dr. Adel Salem, General Manager of the Retail Banking division at BBK commented: “At BBK, we strive to offer our customers the latest trends and services that will enable them to perform their banking transactions conveniently and safely using their smart mobile devices.  We are excited to embark on this new and exciting partnership with Visa to offer our customers a unique banking experience through Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay.  This partnership will enable them to perform contactless transactions effortlessly at any location or payment terminal that accepts contactless payments, complementing their active and busy lifestyles.”

Malak Al Safar, Visa’s Country Manager for Bahrain, said: “With the increased usage of connected devices in so many aspects of our lives – and more so as a result of the pandemic, we are seeing more people turning to mobile devices and wearables to make payments..  Bahrain being home to tech-savvy, mobile-first consumers, we can only expect a great response to this partnership and to the introduction of Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay to consumers.”

BBK Debit cardholders can start using contactless payments right away through their compatible Fitbit and Garmin devices by simply downloading the Fitbit App and the Garmin Connect App which are available for both iOS and Android mobile devices. To start using the service, BBK Debit cardholders need to add at least one debit card to the Wallet in their Fitbit App or Garmin Connect app.