Pavlok Wearable (Literally) Shocks You Into Fiscal Responsibility

Do you keep buying stuff you don't need, and willpower isn't enough to stop you? Enter the Pavlok, a wrist band that delivers a 255 volt shock to the wearer when they violate self-imposed spending limits. The wearable works via an integration with a banking platform for Intelligent Environments, a UK company. The setup is pretty straight-forward. Pavlok owners sign up for the service, connect their banking data and their Pavlok, then set limits on their spending. Go over that limit, and the system will notify Pavlok, which will dutifully give you an electric shock as punishment.

The idea behind Pavlok is simple — using negative reinforcement to train yourself out of a bad habit, in this case, overspending. The banking platform itself can work with more than Pavlok, though, and those who don't like the thought of suffering a shock can use Nest for a more subtle sort of discomfort.

Connecting Nest with Intelligent Environment's system will cause the smart thermostat to adjust the temperature in one's home to whatever temperature they chose if a spending limit is violated. Spend too much money, for example, and you can set the thermostat to turn the AC down in the summer time, making yourself uncomfortably warm.

Said Intelligent Environments' director David Webber:

With cashless payments like contactless, direct debits, and Apple Pay, it's unsurprising we lose track of spending, so we decided to solve this by enabling smart devices to manage our overspending for us ... Both Pavlok and Nest Thermostat are opt-in services so consumers can decide whether to switch them on or not. However, with the Pavlok integration users have told us they love it. They think it's much better to get a little shock now, instead of a nasty one later.