Well, that's nice. This means you could use your watch to pay for basically anything that you can pay with a credit card...and there's even more potential.

JCB and Casio Computers have developed the "Mobile Office," a wristwatch which features an internal contactless IC chip, allowing for the payment of purchases by credit card with deferred payment settlement. JCB will begin its trial of the product beginning o­n the 10th with JCB employees, and plans o­n beginning commercialization in not just offices but at cash registers, construction plants, etc. after next year.

JCB introduced "Offica," a multi-function deferred payment solution featuring the contactless IC "FeliCa" IC chip, in May of 2003. With the "Offica" employee card that allowed employees to pay small sums such as the employee dining area and such, they were able to make deferred payment purchases, and it was also used as a means of employment verification for entering the building/office. The deferred payment function consists of a link to a preregistered JCB credit card, and small purchases made with the Offica card will be settled to the credit card in a batch.

The watch contains the same "Offica" function. Since it is always near you, you could be wearing it at all times, and since it has the "Office" function, it can be used more practically since it is "more handy and speedy" (Casio Watch Merchandise Project Head, Yoshirou Nakajima).

While the commericalization of this newly developed watch has not yet been made clear, what is clear is that it would be convenient for situations in which it is not convenient to carry a wallet, such as when skiing, at the beach, or other leisure activities - and where you aren't allowed to have a card hanging from your neck, such as at factories. Also, regarding loss protection if something were to happen before you can get the card cancelled, in addition to the security provided by JCB, the "Office" function has some security measures as well.





Inspired by:
http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/article/news_toppage/19218.html

Press Release:
http://www.casio.co.jp/release/2004/offica_watch.html
http://www.casio.co.jp/