sciencetech-blog

comments

It promises to replace all your credit cards with a single slim, digital card.

San Francisco firm Coin first took the internet by storm last year when it revealed the $100 card.

Now, it is set to let the first customers test the gadget that could take over your pocket.

Scroll down for video

The way of the future: The Coin card aims to make paying with multiple credit cards simpler by incorporating everything you own onto one device

Past/Future: Coin wants to replace bulging wallets full of credit cards with a single device called a Coin (right) that can hold the information of all the cards you own

'Coin works with your debit cards, credit cards, gift cards, loyalty cards and membership cards,' the firm boasts.

'Instead of carrying several cards you carry one Coin.'

The Coin card is that is uses a magnetic strip like any regular credit or debit card.

However the information on the strip can change depending on what card the customer wants to use.

An app is used to program the information of up to eight cards securely in the device.

The buyer is then able to switch between cards at the press of a button.

To make the card foolproof, the company said this week it will expand its beta program to 10,000 people.

Compact: The Coin car is sleek and small by a regular credit card but it can hold the information of up to eight others including debit cards, gift cards, loyalty cards and membership cards

 

Coin wants to replace every single card in your wallet

'This is designed for the lifestyle of today with the technology of tomorrow," says Kanishk Parashar, founder of Coin.

'You don't need eight cards every day, so your phone is kind of like your drawer, and your Coin is kind of like your wallet.'

Users then take photos of their cards, swipe them through the dongle and upload them to the Coin mobile app, which stores the info onto your Coin card.

When you want to pay, you browse through stored cards on your Coin, select one, and swipe it anywhere credit, debit or gift cards are accepted.

Information is loaded onto the card through a mobile app, which the firm launched last month.

The process of adding card information to the mobile app is very simple and is done by taking a picture or two and swiping credit cards through a dongle attached to your phone.

However critics have claimed the device is nothing to get too excited about.

As countries slowly move towards the more secure Chip & PIN credit card system, the Coin device is likely to become obsolete.

Mobile payments remain an elusive area with a number of banks and card suppliers attempting to come up with a convenient, safe and secure solution.

In order to make a payment with this card, users tap a button on the Coin card and pick which account they want to pay with, whether it's a business credit card or a personal debit card.

After picking an account, the Coin card is swiped through, no different than any other card.

Both tech large and small have attempted to crack the mobile payments sector and any firm able to facilitate person-to-person or person-to-business transitions on a mass scale stands to gain significant profit off such payments.

Will Oreumus, a blogger with FutureTense, isn't convinced the technology will takeoff.

'To me, the only real problem with Coin is that it feels like a stopgap technology, like those CD-changer cartridges that were popular for a little while before everyone switched to mp3s.

Replacing eight cards with one may lighten your load by an ounce or two, but is that enough to convince people to take the leap of faith involved in adopting a new payment system?

Even early adopters could be forgiven for holding out for a more comprehensive digital wallet—the kind that will let you pay for everything just by tapping your phone, or perhaps some other, even more seamless gesture.'

Other critics have said the card is not forward-thinking or future-proof whatsoever. One claimed it was nothing more than 'old technology wrapped up in a posh case.'

'This is not at all useful overseas where Canada, Mexico and most of Europe use Chip & PIN. In fact, it's typical American thinking whereby the developers have only thought of themselves and not of the winder consequences of usefulness of the product.Save your $100 if I were you!'

How it works: Your credit cards and loaded onto the Coin app by swiping them in and taking a photo. The Coin card can then be used like a normal credit card

Smart card: The Coin card uses a Bluetooth emitter which means if the card is left behind for any reason the card will no longer function

The battery in Coin, said to last up to two years, powers a small display screen that shows which saved card will be charged, along with its expiration date.

Cards are entered into Coin after being swiped on a Square-like dongle plugged into a smartphone.

There are also few worries about leaving the card behind somewhere or losing it altogether.

The coin card only operates if your smartphone is nearby by using the Bluetooth signals.

If the card is disconnected for more than ten minutes, the phone will alert the customer that they have left their card behind.

If the owner drifts too far from Coin, his or her smartphone will alert them. If the card is disconnected for more than 10 minutes, it automatically disables itself, which could potentially be an issue if a phone runs out of juice.