Heritage Bank will this week auction a man's business suit featuring an embedded NFC (near field communications) chip and antenna that allows the wearer to make a payment by simply swiping their sleeve over a contactless payment terminal. One step up from a gimmick, the suit nevertheless sends a strong signal that wearable technology is marching into banking.Technology analyst IDC this month forecast that 19 million wearable computers will ship in 2014, predicting this will surge to almost 112 million units by 2018. IDC believes wearable demand will be seeded by health-focussed wrist bands such as Fitbit, Nike+ or Jawbone. while other devices such as Google Glass or digital tattoos will take longer to make it to the mainstream.Deloitte's wearable forecast is more modest - 10 million devices this year representing a market worth $US3 billion. Australia, however, is seen as a fast adopter and the company believes one in five Australians will have a wearable by August.Not surprisingly, the banking sector is keen to leverage the trend.Frank Farrall, lead partner for Deloitte Digital, said banks which are able to navigate the trust and privacy issues associated with use of wearable technology could benefit from removing friction from the payment process and having access to much finer grained information about customer behaviour. This information could then be used to develop products tailored for specific individuals and to grow bank profits.Heritage Bank chief operating officer John Williams acknowledged that the "payweave" suit being auctioned this week is a "fun way" to raise awareness of contactless payments. Heritage has commissioned a dozen merino-wool men's suits from retailer M.J.Bale, all featuring a Visa Paywave NFC chip and antenna in their sleeves that can be swiped to make payments of up to $100. Williams said that the suit and its embedded technology could survive dry cleaning."Wearable technology is becoming more a part of life with things like Google Glass," said Williams, adding that retailers were already open to the idea of more contactless payments. While Heritage has started with a man's business suit Williams said he could envisage payments technology in the future being built into active wear, allowing cyclists or gym members to swipe their lycra over a contactless payments terminal when they wanted their latte.Williams said the suits were only being used for a three-month trial, and that the other 11 suits weren't for sale.  "We're using it for promotions and a trial," he said, adding that it was the first wearable payments device he was aware of. It's not likely to be the last.In its 2014 banking predictions, bank software specialist Infosys suggested that this is the year that "banking couture takes off. With wearable devices banking may be as easy as 'glass, tell me my balance'."Google Glass is being trialled by Westpac in New Zealand and by St George in Australia, and an application is planned for release once the devices allowing people to check their balance on the electronic spectacles screen or transfer funds are available.Meanwhile, Germany's Saarland University has been