Coin Card Teardown

Post by jaboutboul » Mon, Jul 20, 2015, 8:27 PM UTC

stephengillie wrote: post #4

What Coin has managed to do in such a thin package is really impressive. It’s a shame they weren’t able to do it more reliably. It's a really cool idea. I actually wonder what the technological hurdle was that held them back - mechanical (reliably magnetizing the coils, easy-to-break components due to narrow size), software (programming issues), or QA (reliable SoCs, reliable builds, reliable solders)?

Post by Nursie » Mon, Jul 20, 2015, 8:28 PM UTC

azdle wrote: post #19

Globz wrote: post #16

This is the first time I am reading about this product but why mag stripe over smart cards? isn't it less secure and deprecated technology? it seems very useful but relying on mag stripe isn't the best move, no? Perhaps they couldn't "switch cards" while using smart cards so mag stripe was the only solution?

The security that a smart card provides would actually prevent a product like this from working because one of the primary purposes of the chip system in CCs is to prevent cloning, but this relies on simply being able to enter your CC number into it. I can't remember what it was called, but I remember reading about something that does use a chip card and allows you to switch payment providers using a phone app, but t…

Post by Globz » Mon, Jul 20, 2015, 8:28 PM UTC

azdle wrote: post #19

Globz wrote: post #16

This is the first time I am reading about this product but why mag stripe over smart cards? isn't it less secure and deprecated technology? it seems very useful but relying on mag stripe isn't the best move, no? Perhaps they couldn't "switch cards" while using smart cards so mag stripe was the only solution?

The security that a smart card provides would actually prevent a product like this from working because one of the primary purposes of the chip system in CCs is to prevent cloning, but this relies on simply being able to enter your CC number into it. I can't remember what it was called, but I remember reading about something that does use a chip card and allows you to switch payment providers using a phone app, but t…

Post by stephengillie » Mon, Jul 20, 2015, 8:36 PM UTC

Globz wrote: post #16

This is the first time I am reading about this product but why mag stripe over smart cards? isn't it less secure and deprecated technology? it seems very useful but relying on mag stripe isn't the best move, no? Perhaps they couldn't "switch cards" while using smart cards so mag stripe was the only solution?

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 20, 2015, 8:39 PM UTC

function_seven wrote: post #15

lvs wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like just another startup hardware offering with a spotty launch. But I've always been confused about the perceived "embarrassment" of a card not working at the point of a transaction. This seems to be a common marketing trope in payments, but I don't know what it comes from. It's a piece of technology, and tech often doesn't work quite right. Sometimes my phone restarts itself. What's the big deal?

For me the big deal is that if my card doesn't work—my actual plastic card, that is—then it's the retailer's equipment that is faulty. They fumble around with it—using a plastic bag sometimes, or they move to another terminal—and it works eventually. But the issue is almost always on the reader side, not with the card itself. On the flip side, that retailer has just seen 100 people in a row use their plastic just fin…