The MuchBetter Ring has no battery, requires no specific bank and does not rely on a phone for use. Users will be required to download the MuchBetter App, create an account, and load it with £50 before entering their ring size. Upon delivery, customers need to hold it near their NFC-enabled smartphone to automatically detect and pair the ring via MuchBetter’s new ‘Tap to Activate’ functionality within the app. Once loaded, the ring can be used to make payments all over the world, anywhere that displays Mastercard or the contactless payment symbol, just by knocking the ring on the contactless payment terminal. The roll out in the UK follows a similar promotional campaign in Italy over the summer. Other markets set to come onstream include Germany, Austria, Ireland and Poland. Tom Lenihan, director of marketing at MuchBetter, says: “While other payment rings can cost upwards of £100, we’re committed to giving away our rings for free and disrupt the standard wearable item business model where customers must first purchase an item and then load it with funds. "Our ultimate goal is to ensure that one day, everyone will use totally frictionless payment systems. Financial hold-ups, hassles, wallets and cards will just be a relic of the past, and the first step is to get our ring product onto the hands of as many people as possible.” MuchBetter was selected by Mastercard to enable guests attending the 2023 UEFA Champions League final to use contactless vegan ‘leather’ key fobs to make payments in and around Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium and to provide users with access control in the venue. Lenihan says that in the coming months, customers in select markets will be able to pair MuchBetter Wearables, such as key fobs, watches, and jewellery to make contactless payments.

MuchBetter’s move comes just a month after wearable payments vendor McLear closed down its flagship Ring pre-paid programme, blaming the increasing complexity and cost of maintaining the product.