Just like Apple, Fitbit, Google, and Samsung, Garmin also has its own contactless payment solution called Garmin Pay which is available on selected fitness smartwatches from the company. As it turns out, you are now able to utilise the NFC-based solution in Malaysia.
This is how the Gamin Pay looks like in action, as demonstrated by Twitter user @kep3n using his Garmin Fenix 6:
Dah try ke garminpay korg #garminpayishere pic.twitter.com/Nmw8gYUUeS
— The infosec tryathlete (@kep3n) August 11, 2020
While we don’t have the list of Malaysian-issued cards that can be used with Garmin Pay, the examples that we have heard so far including @kep3n were done with the Maybank Visa debit card.
For a credit or debit card to work with Garmin Pay, the support must be enabled by the bank itself. However, neither Garmin nor Maybank have announced official support for Garmin Pay and Maybank’s name was not even listed on Garmin’s website at the time this article goes live.
Additionally, @kep3n has also noted that the activation SMS that he received when he added the card to his Garmin Fenix 6 didn’t say Garmin Pay though. Instead, it was stated as Samsung Pay:
At first, we thought that it could be because @kep3n is using a Samsung phone. However, he revealed that he has another friend who has received similar “Samsung Pay” activation SMS on his iPhone when he tried to add a Maybank Visa debit card to his Garmin Venu.
Through what @kepen has shared to us today, looks like Garmin might have just beat Fitbit Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay to the punch by being latest first-party NFC contactless payment solution in Malaysia. Nevertheless, we are now reaching out to Garmin and Maybank representatives to obtain the official details regarding Garmin Pay support in Malaysia.
