MuchBetter Payment Ring: Is this the future of contactless pay?

First cheques, then cash - now, are bank cards primed for the scrap heap?

Well, yes, if you’re asking tech wearables start-up MuchBetter. The British company makes contactless payment gadgets like rings and keychain e-wallets that skip the need to fumble for your wallet or phone when you need to pay for stuff. It’s an appealing concept in London, a city that sees a phone snatched every seven-and-a-half minutes on average, says The Met as reported by The Standard.

Smart wearables feel old hat at this point, with modern iterations spotlighting all things health and wellbeing, tracking everything from step count and sleep quality to training technique.

MuchBetter differs in that it strips away the tracking, monitoring and counting, operating on a singular mission: to make contactless payments as seamlessly as possible.

Some admin first, as always. Download the MuchBetter app, complete the verification steps (which involve taking snaps of your ID, confirmation selfies, and a picture of a utility bill or bank statement with your address on). Then, you can add funds to the account before naming your new accessory, which feels a bit pointless but sure, fine in the name of fun or if you happen to have multiple rings for work and play. Once complete, you’re on your merry way, ready to start splashing your fun money.

Wondering how exactly? It’s pretty simple. The ring works like anything fitted with an NFC chip, the tech that allows two electronic systems to ‘speak’ to each other, even if one of those terminals - in this case, the MuchBetter ring - doesn’t have a battery.

Hold, wave or knock your fist on a contactless payment terminal when you want to settle up, just as you would your phone or card. This pings cash from your account to the machine via the ring through the built-in NFC signal. Like any trick, it feels obvious once you get under the hood.

I first tried the ring out in M&S Waterloo where none amongst the hurried and harrassed-looking swarm batted an eyelid. Hours later, at a Devon chippy, the queue was suitably more impressed. I don’t mind much, the whole point is for people not to notice.

There is a knack to it - in my spending adventures, I found a slow wave or glide to be more effective than a bona fide knock (and raises fewer eyebrows). Those easily embarrassed may find it awkward if payments aren’t approved instantly, but don’t forget, this can happen with cards and phones too. A patient couple of seconds (and a silent prayer to the contactless gods) generally does the trick. I have been using my ring without much trouble since my MuchBetter account was verified.

MuchBetter’s ceramic ring doesn’t need a PIN for spends below £50. The company promises it will work anywhere that accepts Mastercard and contactless payments (and my testing showed this to be true to its word), and the pre-payment element makes overspending far less likely, as you must top up via the app, giving you vital moments to pause and think.

It is fantastically unremarkable-looking, so plain it’s not worth a second glance. No bad thing: it should fly well under the radar of scum and villains.

I chose a ring size to sit on my middle and index fingers so I can stack it alongside the rest of my jewellery, masking its true purpose even further.

The app needs work. It took three verification attempts before I could start spending, despite sticking to all the requirements. And it keeps logging itself out, requiring a full restart to regain access to my account, which is starting to get VTI (Very Tedious Indeed).

It may not matter for occasional use on days out or at a festival when you’ve preloaded a set budget, but may become tiresome if you’re using this ring for day-to-day spending and need to keep topping up.