As retailers around the world seek ways to make it easier for consumers to shop seamlessly without touching anything, one company in Japan is betting its technology can rule them all: a smart ring that can act as a wallet and a key.
MTG Co., a Japanese health and beauty company, has started selling the Evering, which it envisions as a one-stop digital wallet. The chip-embedded ring, made out of zirconia, the synthetic crystal that’s sometimes used in place of diamonds in jewelry, lets people lock their door as they step out for a run as well as pay for drinks in stores.
MTG earlier this month struck a contract with Visa Inc. for the sale of an initial batch of 3,000 rings in Japan.