Huawei’s new HUAWEI WATCH FIT 5 Series is not just arriving as another fitness-first wearable. Launched on 7 May at Huawei’s “Now Is Your Spark” global product launch event in Bangkok, the series is also becoming a clearer statement about where everyday payments are going: smaller screens, fewer objects, and less dependence on the phone.

The headline feature for European users is the integration of Curve Pay. That means owners of the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 5 Series can make NFC contactless payments directly from the watch at compatible terminals, without reaching for a wallet or smartphone. It sounds simple, but that is exactly the point. The best payment experience is often the one that disappears into the moment.

For Huawei, this is a useful upgrade because the Watch Fit line has always lived somewhere between a fitness tracker and a smartwatch. With Curve Pay added to the new generation, it becomes a more complete everyday device: one that can track your workout, show your notifications, support outdoor movement, and now handle a coffee, a metro ticket, a grocery stop, or an airport snack from the wrist.

Why Curve Pay matters

Curve Pay is important here because it gives Huawei a practical route into wearable payments in Europe. Instead of relying only on direct bank-by-bank support, Curve works as a smart wallet that lets users connect multiple cards and manage which card is used through the Curve app. Curve is also running a launch prize draw linked to Huawei watches, giving eligible users a chance to win one of 50 Huawei Watch prizes when making qualifying Curve Pay payments.

That matters because payments are often the missing piece in non-Apple and non-Google wearables. A smartwatch can have a bright screen, strong battery life and solid sports tracking, but if it cannot pay at a terminal, it still feels slightly unfinished for everyday use.

Huawei is trying to close that gap. According to Huawei’s own product pages, both the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 5 and WATCH FIT 5 Pro support NFC payments, alongside up to 10 days of battery life, fast charging, 100+ sports modes and advanced cycling features such as virtual power and virtual cadence.

Security without friction

The security detail worth noticing is off-wrist detection. If the watch is removed, the device triggers a passcode before payments or sensitive features can be accessed. That may not sound glamorous, but it is essential for making wrist payments feel normal rather than risky.

This is where wearable payments are different from card payments. A watch is attached to the body, but it is also easier to forget, lend, charge, remove or leave on a desk. For phone-free payments to scale, security has to be built into the gesture. Apple Watch uses a similar logic around wrist detection and passcode protection for Apple Pay, while Google Wallet on Wear OS also requires NFC, a supported region and a supported card before smartwatch payments can work.

In other words, Huawei is not inventing the category. It is catching up in a way that makes the Watch Fit 5 Series more competitive for users who want a lighter, more affordable smartwatch experience without losing one of the most useful features of premium wearables.

More than a payment upgrade

The payment story is only one layer. The HUAWEI WATCH FIT 5 Series is also being positioned as a lifestyle and fitness device for people who want to travel light.

Huawei has added Mini-Workout mode, designed for short bursts of movement during the day, along with cycling auto-detection and real-time performance metrics. The Pro model pushes further with a 1.92-inch AMOLED display, up to 3,000 nits brightness, a titanium bezel, sapphire glass, ECG analysis, enhanced sleep monitoring and more advanced outdoor sport features.

The standard Watch Fit 5 keeps the lighter, mainstream appeal with a 1.82-inch AMOLED display, NFC support, health tracking, fall detection, advanced cycling metrics and up to 10 days of battery life.

Get £40 off the launch offer for HUAWEI WATCH FIT 5

This is where Huawei’s strategy is smart. It is not selling the Watch Fit 5 Series only as a sports watch. It is selling it as the thing you wear when you do not want to carry everything else.

That use case is very real. Going for a run without a phone. Walking to the beach with no wallet. Moving through an airport with your hands full. Running downstairs for coffee between meetings. These are small moments, but they are exactly where wearable payments make sense.

The wider payment shift

Huawei’s timing also fits the broader direction of European payments. The European Central Bank reported that non-cash payments in the euro area reached 77.7 billion transactions in the first half of 2025, up 7.7% year on year, with card payments accounting for 57% of all non-cash transactions. E-money payments also grew 10.7% over the same period.

Contactless behaviour is becoming deeply habitual too. Mastercard said contactless payments represented more than 75% of transactions on its network in 2025, while Ireland’s banking federation reported that almost 60% of contactless payments in shops, restaurants and retail outlets were made using mobile wallets rather than physical cards in the first half of 2025.

That is the bigger story behind Huawei and Curve Pay. The watch is not replacing the bank card overnight. But the payment object is clearly moving from plastic to phone, and from phone to wearable in certain high-frequency moments.

Final take

The HUAWEI WATCH FIT 5 Series does not change the wearable market by itself, but it does make Huawei’s European smartwatch proposition more complete. Apple Watch still has the strongest payment-native ecosystem. Wear OS watches benefit from Google Wallet and broad app support. Garmin has carved out a strong sports-first audience with Garmin Pay in supported markets.

Huawei’s opportunity is slightly different. It can compete on battery life, design, fitness depth and now wrist payments, while staying attractive to users who do not want a full premium smartwatch price point. Curve Pay gives the Watch Fit 5 Series the everyday utility it needed.

The real takeaway is simple: payments are becoming part of the wearable baseline. Not a bonus feature. Not a luxury add-on. A watch that wants to be worn all day now has to do more than count steps. It has to help you move through the day with fewer things in your pockets.