This bracelet gives you an electric shock if you go overdrawn
The Pavlok wristband is designed to deliver a 255-volt jolt if the wearer spends too much money
A WRISTBAND that gives wearers an electric shock when they spend too much money has been developed.
The Pavlok is designed to be linked to bank accounts and will deliver a 255-volt jolt if the user exceeds pre-set spending limits.
The £120 device – which could be in operation by the end of the year – was developed by finance technology company Intelligent Environments.
Chief Executive David Webber said: “This is all about giving customers the choice to control how they spend money.”
Saying that he hopes the product will be popular with young adults, he added: “There’s probably a novelty value as well.”
But he admitted that people aged 50 and over were more wary, saying: "The baby boom generation was certainly more circumspect about it.”
The Pavlok was originally launched in 2014 to shock users out of bad habits such as nail-biting, smoking and over-sleeping.
Makers say the bracelet has been fully tested and is safe, claiming the shock causes a “slightly uncomfortable” sensation but no pain or burns.
Intelligent Environment’s software will also work with Google’s Nest thermostat, a £200 device which remotely controls heating in houses and learns its owners’ routines.
If a user’s bank account drops below a pre-set limit, Nest will turn the heating down to save money. Dropping the temperature of your heating by three degrees can save up to £255 a year, Intelligent Environments claims.
Although the software is available now, it will take at least six months before banks offer it to their customers – if they decide they should.
The wristband was named after Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, who worked with dogs to prove behaviour can be conditioned by rewards and punishments.
It was created by US internet entrepreneur Maneesh Sethi, who famously hired a woman to slap him every time he went on Facebook at work.
