Coin • Hacker News Board

Re: Coin

#101

Post by rickyc091 » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:41 PM UTC

colinbartlett wrote: post #65

rexreed wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how exactly is this verified? I don't think there's OCR there to verify that it's your card you just snapped a photo of.

Card.io will scan cards and OCR them. Maybe they do something like this to ensure the name matches the registered name on the account? https://www.card.io Edit: And it's on the magnetic data, too.

Couldn't you technically bypass the OCR by taping a piece of paper with a different name or number over it? Does the magnetic data store the name?

Re: Coin

#102

Post by emhart » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:41 PM UTC

kintamanimatt wrote: post #68

I wonder how this would fare in an ATM. What happens if the ATM accidentally presses the card selection button? If the ATM gobbles the card, now you've effectively lost your entire wallet. What happens if the cashier presses the card selection button while running your card too? Oops, now your boss wants to know why you've just paid for your groceries on the business credit card and why you've cloned your business cr…

As far as "gobbling the card" is concerned, their FAQ states that they can only be used with "dip" ATMs, which may also address the button pushing issue.

EDIT: More details from the FAQ:

Q. Can someone accidentally change which card is selected on my Coin?

A. We’ve designed the button to toggle cards in a way that makes it difficult to trigger a "press" unintentionally. Dropping a Coin, holding a Coin, sitting on a Coin, or putting the Coin in a check presenter at a restaurant will not inadvertently toggle the card that is selected.

Re: Coin

#103

Post by ohazi » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:42 PM UTC

earlz wrote: post #69

This would be an excellent opportunity to add some encryption to credit card numbers. Imagine taking this, except for it has a pin-pad where you enter in your password/passkey. All credit card numbers stored on the device are encrypted with this key, so it's impossible for a thief to swipe your card. However, it doesn't solve the malicious waiter problem.. but of course, you could still keep it locked down so that th…

Or, we could just start using chip+pin in the U.S.

Re: Coin

#104

Post by joezydeco » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:43 PM UTC

Can anyone elaborate how the magstripe trick works? That's the only thing that I can't find, and it's kind of the crucial point of the whole project.

Re: Coin

#105

Post by a_emme » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:43 PM UTC

There's a reason HUGE banks with customers who have significant existing relationships (Citi Bank - Mastercard, Visa Debit, Heloc, etc) has not done this, don't you think? Not cause the love printing and mailing plastic....

Re: Coin

#106

Post by jebus989 » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

Well-implemented idea, as others have said. It's ridiculous that in 2013 I'm still carrying around a wallet full of junk (and keys but that's another story).

However this feels like an awkward stop-gap between the current card-payment system and online payments. I don't want to give a waiter a piece of plastic and get a little paper receipt back, give me some kind of abstracted account ID and I'll transfer you the money from my phone/laptop/smartwatch/glass (/whatever we'll all have by the time a new payment method is sufficiently penetrant to be useful).

Re: Coin

#107

Post by kintamanimatt » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

Osmium wrote: post #91

fryguy wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was in the UK with my non-chip and pin card and there was a similar response. It took like 5 people at Tesco to figure it out.

Yeah, I can't remember the last time I saw someone sign for or swipe a credit card in the UK: it's all chip-and-pin now, all the time. This looks like cool technology but it just wouldn't work here.

Pro tip: if you're in the UK and think Chip+PIN is a really good way for the bank to shift liability to the cardholder and want to make your life miserable, ask the bank for a Chip+Signature card. That'll fuck things up for you on the regular.

Re: Coin

#108

Post by jrs99 » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

kintamanimatt wrote: post #98

timdorr wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably when the card is away from your phone (and BT connectivity), it would disable the button on the card. Or you could lock it into selecting that card via the phone.

Imagine you've dropped your phone somewhere (or had it picked out of your pocket) and tada, now your credit cards no longer work! As a result you're temporarily part of the nouveau poor and can't call anybody for help if you're out and about on your own.

maybe the card still works but you just can't select another card.

Re: Coin

#109

Post by avree » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:45 PM UTC

ohazi wrote: post #100

With any luck, this will piss off the banks/CC companies enough to finally roll out chip+pin in the US.

Uh, why would we want chip+pin in the US?

Re: Coin

#110

Post by ars » Thu, Nov 14, 2013, 6:45 PM UTC

timdorr wrote: post #82

sequoia wrote: post #37

What happens when the waiter accidentally clicks the button & charges your business card when it should have charged your personal card? I guess they can just peruse your cards, see what you've got, and pick which one to charge. :p

Presumably when the card is away from your phone (and BT connectivity), it would disable the button on the card. Or you could lock it into selecting that card via the phone.

> Presumably when the card is away from your phone (and BT connectivity), it would disable the button

See the FAQ, It doesn't. It's designed to be standalone with only periodic checkins (once a day probably) with the phone to make sure you still have the card.