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Coin

onlycoin.com

141–150 of 720 posts

Re: Coin

#141
Thats a sweet idea, i would really like to have something like coin.

The problem is that in Finland there is very few places that uses the "swipe" your card and sign method anymore. Back some 2-3 years ago it was a custom, but for security reasons (anyone can swipe a stolen card and sign it, the law does not require an ID unless the amount being paid is over 100 euros) it was abandoned and now you simply enter your PIN and that that.

Im not sure about other countries, but atm this is the norm in Finland.

Re: Coin

#142

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…

> Oops, now your boss wants to know why you just paid for your groceries on the business credit card and you have to explain that you cloned your business credit card and there was a mistake!! I'm not sure how every corporate card works, but I have accidentally made purchases on a Corporate Amex before and it's not a problem. I just pay that part off myself and don't mark it to be expensed. Don't see this as a proble…

I know mistakes happen and things do get charged to the wrong card, but can you imagine your boss being a happy bunny if he or she found out you've cloned the card?

Re: Coin

#143

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…

> Oops, now your boss wants to know why you just paid for your groceries on the business credit card and you have to explain that you cloned your business credit card and there was a mistake!! I'm not sure how every corporate card works, but I have accidentally made purchases on a Corporate Amex before and it's not a problem. I just pay that part off myself and don't mark it to be expensed. Don't see this as a proble…

OTOH in other companies you might be in serious hot water. Or, if you work for the government, potentially going to jail for putting personal expenses on a government card.

Re: Coin

#144

One of my biggest questions/objections is about the battery life issue. They claim that this will run out juice every 2 years or so and that the battery cannot be replaced, so I'll just need to buy a new one. $100 every two years for this device seems like a pretty big expense, as opposed to $100 one time.

Early adopter tax. Once they find other ways to monetize (and they will, considering they have actually planted a physical device in a revenue stream), the device cost can drop precipitously.

Re: Coin

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the looks of it, it will handle rewards cards and whatnot just fine. If I could just store my Qdoba, Panera, Gameworks, Dave and Busters, REI, Best Buy, Safeway, Kroger, etc. cards on one single card. Now I can keep as many rewards cards as I want, without having to stuff my wallet full of junk I don't need 99% of the time. The money I save from rewards cards I wouldn't normally carry would probably pay for the…

Every rewards card I have is a scanned barcode, not a mag swipe.

I have a mix of both TBH. So you'd still have to carry the rewards cards that don't have a magstripe!

Re: Coin

#147
See how this idea has progressed in six years:

Here's how it works. Users register their cards on the company Web site and upload the information into the iCache. When they want to use it, they activate the device with a fingerprint on its biometric strip, scroll through a list of cards on its screen and choose one. Out pops a plastic card with a magnetic stripe, temporarily loaded with the chosen card's data. Just swipe the card and pop it back into the iCache. After one use, the information on the card disappears. The device even works with loyalty cards, such as those handed out by supermarkets.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/23/technology/one_credit_card.b...

The hardware technology is certainly more advanced, but I'm of the opinion that the true endgame is going to be a scannable or NFC "card" stored entirely on the user's device (ala Passbook), not using a physical middleman.

Re: Coin

#148
post #110
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.

> 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.

From the FAQ: Q. What if I lose my Coin or someone steals it? A. In the event that your Coin loses contact with your phone for a period of time that you configure in the Coin mobile app, it will automatically deactivate itself.

Re: Coin

#149

Seems like a cool idea. But also seems like a credit card thief's dream.

Throw enough money and brains at the problems, and it becomes a thief's nightmare. They've already got a good start, it seems. The credit card industry already eats significant small-scale fraud, so if you can create a system that makes it harder, rather than easier, to defraud cards, the big companies will be all over it. And THEN there will be big, big money.

Re: Coin

#150
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Swiping a card passes along the name on the card.

But a waiter doesn't ask for ID when taking your card... so even if the Coin identifies you as John Smith when you pay your check, the fact that you are Steve Jackson who presented the card doesn't mean anything. And you can have multiple cards with multiple names in your Coin.

I believe the coin app will only put cards on the Coin that match the name that is on your account.
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