About a month ago I was sent a new piece of jewellery through the post to test out and I was blown away. Have you heard of the K Ring? It’s the world’s first contactless payment ring. The world of wearable technology has gone bonkers!

Debit/credit Cards – A thing of the past

I first heard about these contactless payment rings through a friend and I thought I had to find out more. So I touched base with K Wearables and got my hands (no pun intended) on one of these rings. Gone are the days when you had to carry your bank cards around with you or even take out your phone from your pocket to purchase items, the K Ring allows you to pay for anything (with a £30 limit per transaction) with a simple fist pump. It’s genius!

How does it work?

It’s quite simple. The K Ring currently works via a virtual Mastercard, which is created for you when you register your contactless payment ring online. Firstly you will need to go online, set up your account, order the ring of your choice (there’s so many colours to choose from), select your ring size and checkout. When the ring arrives you will then need to pair it to your account.

So, how do I put money on the K Ring?

Once your ring is paired to your account you can then add a bank card to your online account which will link up with your virtual Mastercard. And then it’s just a matter of loading money onto your virtual Mastercard through a click of a button. And it’s ready to use.

If you have an ABN AMRO account you can skip the step of loading money onto your virtual Mastercard as the K Ring is already partnered with ABN AMRO so you can directly link your bank account to your ring and the money spent will be taken directly from your account, saving you from having to upload money to your K Ring virtual Mastercard. I’ve heard there’s more banks eager to get involved and it will be a matter of time before the K Ring has partnered with the likes of Natwest, Barclays, HSBC, Santander etc.

What’s the K Ring made off and what colours does it come in?

The K Ring is made from scratch resistant zirconia ceramic and the actual ring itself comes in either black or white, however you can get the inside of the ring done in several different colours, including Candy, Fire, Jet, Leaf, Ocean and Sun (fancy names for pink, red, black, green, blue and yellow). Did I say it’s also waterproof, so you can shower with it or wash dishes and it will still work, just be careful it doesn’t drop down the drain. There’s no charging involved either, unlike a smartphone so wherever you are you always will have some money on you, as long as you keep topping up your virtual Mastercard.

Is the K Ring free to use and can I use it anywhere and everywhere?

So, after the initial payment for the ring (£99) there are no other costs involved. The ring is completely free to use, no charges from any retailers or banks. It can be used anywhere that accepts Mastercard, which is almost 6 millions retailers worldwide. I tend to use it mainly on the London underground. Saves me from getting my card or phone out of my pocket. One thing to note, the London underground takes some time to extract the money from your K Ring so make sure you always have enough funds in your account, especially over the weekend as they will block the ring until you have money in your account.

Is it secure?

Yep it sure is. For you to use the K Ring you have to be within 4cm of the payment device and also make a fist gesture to pay. So you can’t make accidental contactless payments and if anyone thinks they can scan your ring without you knowing they will be out of luck. Also as it’s powered by Mastercard you also benefit from all of Mastercard’s security and you can easily turn on and off the ring should you lose or misplace the ring.

I’ve been trying the K Ring out for a month now and absolutely love it. I’m lost without it. It’s a great accessory on my finger, looks cool and trendy and works wonders. I was in a pub recently and people were coming up to me asking how they can get their hands on one of these contactless payment rings. Well if your reading this and would like one, here’s your chance to get 15% off.

Head over to www.mykring.com and use the discount code K-IWYXY2 to get a special 15% off.

When you get yours I’d like to hear your thoughts so come back and share your experience with us.