Bracelet gives an electric shock if you go overdrawn
IT could be the perfect way of keeping tabs on a wife – or husband – whose spending threatens to break the family budget.
For this wristband can be programmed to inflict a small electric shock on a wearer who goes overdrawn.
The Pavlok is designed to be linked to online bank accounts and deliver a 255-volt jolt if preset spending limits are exceeded.
Finance technology company Intelligent Environments, whose customers include Lloyds and HSBC, has developed the idea, which it aims to have in operation by the end of the year.
Managing director David Webber said he hopes the wristband, which is expected to cost around £120, will be popular with young adults.
‘My daughter and other people we’ve spoken to who are under 25 think it’s brilliant,’ he said. ‘There’s probably a novelty value as well.’
The Pavlok was launched in 2014 as a device to shock users out of bad habits such as nail-biting, oversleeping or smoking. The idea is that giving the wearer an unpleasant feeling when they do something bad will modify their behaviour.
Makers say the Pavlok has been fully tested and is safe. The 255volt shock causes a ‘slightly uncomfortable’ sensation but no pain or burns, they insist. Its name was inspired by Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, whose work with dogs showed how behaviour can be conditioned by the prospect of receiving a reward or a punishment.
The wristband was created by US internet entrepreneur Maneesh Sethi, who came to public prominence when he hired a woman to slap him in the face every time he went on Facebook while at work.
Intelligent Environments’ software will also work with Google’s Nest thermostat, which remotely controls heating in houses and learns its owners’ routine. If a user’s bank account drops below a specified limit, Nest will turn the heating down to save money.
The project is part of a wider move by banks to influence customer behaviour using psychological techniques. RBS has developed a strategy to track their spending habits and HSBC has been trialling a mobile app called Nudge in which customers let the bank examine their outlays and offer advice.
TSB sparked outrage last month when it emerged branch staff were carrying out secret psychological tests on customers seeking a loan.