Pay your bills with a flick of the wrist

Strapping your wallet, house keys and a database of passwords onto your wrist would make life a lot easier, and one Canadian company has created a way to link all of that information with an extra level of security tied to your heartbeat.

Nymi is one of the latest entrants to the crowded wearables market, which is dominated by the Apple Watch and a wide selection of fitness trackers.

The Toronto- based company has created a wristband that operates like a virtual key you wear on your wrist.

Sensing the electrical activity of its user’s heart, the device can be used for a variety of functions, like logging onto your computer using a password, paying with your credit card at the checkout or opening your car door.

Once you take it off your wrist, the device deactivates until you slip it on again and its sensors detect your heartbeat.

In many ways, the Nymi is a breakthrough, but with so many other wristbands on the market, selling the concept to mainstream consumers could prove a bigger challenge.

Over the past two years, competition for “body real estate” has intensified, particularly when it comes to the space on your wrist once occupied by a traditional watch, said Nymi co- founder Karl Martin.

But back when he started the company in 2011, under the name Bionym, wearables were mostly still just an idea among developers.

At this point, the Nymi is still in its early stages, available only as part of a $ 150 developer kit aimed at encouraging programmers to create new ways to use the wristband. Over the past year, Nymi has been tested on the arms of a small group of Canadians.

The company partnered with Royal Bank on the RBC PayBand last fall, a pilot project designed to give banking clients more payment options.

Nymi rolled out a larger test earlier this summer by equipping about 100 TD Bank customers in Toronto, Ottawa and Regina with the wristband.

Other banks are expected to join the experiment in the coming months, but it could still be a while before consumers get their hands on a Nymi band.

In the meantime, Nymi is focused on attracting companies who want to boost corporate security in hopes they’ll sign large supply contracts.

Breaking into the fickle consumer market will be a bigger challenge.