McLear RingPay 2 – Best Smart Ring For Payments

I still remember visiting London years ago and seeing people tap their phones on the bus to make payments. I was so fascinated to see how that worked. Come today, I can tap my ring and pay for morning coffee. One brand leading this cashless revolution is McLear.

Out of the leading industry players– Oura, Samsung, RingConn, and many more; NFC payments are not supported. This gives McLear a clear monopoly in this niche. However, I’m excited to see which leading brands enter into this space. Let’s see if the McLear ring is worth tapping into.

McLear RingPay 2#

Pros and Cons#

The McLear RingPay 2 is a smart ring that supports payments thanks to the NFC (near field communication) tech. It works like a contactless card but in the form of a ring. We can load funds from our card into the RingPay wallet and pay using the ring.

The good thing about this ring is its ability to make payments with one tap without needing to whip out my wallet, and it doesn’t need to be charged. The bad thing– it is the only feature of the ring. Forget counting steps and tracking sleep. Just like a credit card expires, the McLear ring works for 36 months.

The ring allows one to add four rings to one account, tracking finances and transferring funds from one ring to the other. It also comes with a sizing kit to ensure a perfect fit and so that you don’t lose the ring if it is too loose. It is also available in 3 colors and finishes– black, white, and stealth.

On the off chance that you lose the ring, the app allows you to block the ring, halting the payments and keeping the funds secure. Another drawback is that the RingPay 2 will only be available in the UK (Excluding the Isle of Man & Channel Islands), and aged 18 or over, although they will launch it in other countries. But we don’t have an official word on when that’ll be.

Secure to Tap?#

• The McLear RingPay 2 allows to set a PIN for transactions of higher value.
• The ring has a secured wallet, which prevents the details from being stolen or cooped while making payments.
• There’s added protection in the app with a user ID and password, which can be accessed via a 6-digit code, faceID, or fingerprint.

Other Payment Rings in the Market?#

While the McLear was found to be the leader in this niche, there were rumors of Samsung possibly introducing a tap-to-pay feature in there Galaxy Ring. Although that did not manifest, there is a possibility that Galaxy Ring will be introduced with the Samsung Pay feature in the upcoming versions.

There are many smartwatches for payments available in the market, though.

The Apple Ring may also be introduced with Apple Pay, but since there is no buzz about the launch date, we’ll just have to wait and see if it becomes more than just a rumor.

Frequently Asked Questions#

Wrap Up#

So, would I buy the McLear ring? For a ring that only has one function, probably not. Although the convenience is well thought out, I don’t trust myself with not keeping the ring somewhere and forgetting it.

Personally, I would be more attracted to a payments feature if it is coupled with tracking other metrics – steps and sleep at the very least. However, since payments use a NFC chip which eventually expires, I doubt that it’s possible. Then again, technology has achieved levels we never knew were possible, so, who knows?