Neat concept, but doesn't Google Wallet already integrate this kind of functionality (via NFC)?
I'd much rather have my financial data stored on my phone as I keep the device encrypted and can erase it remotely.
Coin
211–220 of 720 posts
Re: Coin
#212Unless I'm missing something: if I lose my Coin card, ALL of my credit and debit cards are compromised. That's a showstopper. A thief could drain not just one account, but every account I have.
Re: Coin
#213It's this easy to clone a credit card? Why is anyone using credit cards? I feel confirmed in not having one.
Re: Coin
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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.
In cases like that it would be unwise to put your company card on this card. You'd now be carrying two cards. In the case of having to carry two cards, it still fixes my George Costanza wallet.
Re: Coin
#215IF ONLY he had said, "One coin... to rule them all" at the very end!
What a product, I love it, and I love this guy's quirkiness. Love. Love. Love.
Re: Coin
#216I worked on a product like this at Amex about 20 years ago and while it was a totally neat concept it was completely stupid in practice. All those plastic cards are marketing vehicles that can also transmit a number. And, really, are they that difficult to manage?
I'd argue that, yes, they are difficult to manage. Not from a logistics point of view, but from a physical one.
I carried my wallet in my back pocket from 16yrs of age to 34 and always ended up with broken or bent cards. After taking a cruise outside of the US, I started carrying my wallet in my front pocket for security purposes and started researching minimalist wallets to reduce the bulk. I've backed 2 of those on kickstarter and am eying a 3rd, because the first two don't allow me to acces my cards quickly enough when I have more than 2 or 3.
For me, this solves multiple problems: it makes the minimalist wallets out there that much for functional because now I only need my coin card, my ID, my insurance card and perhaps a backup credit card for any merchants I run into that won't take the coin. 4 cards down from 9, not including any rewards cards which could push it up to 16 easily sounds like a good deal to me. It also keeps me from forgetting lesser used rewards cards and credit cards at home because they're either in the coin already or in the iPhone app and can be switched into the coin when needed.
Re: Coin
#217Unless I'm missing something: if I lose my Coin card, ALL of my credit and debit cards are compromised. That's a showstopper. A thief could drain not just one account, but every account I have.
BTLE tether, card gets deactivated if its not near your phone.
Re: Coin
#218Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 C…
Surely you'll get a waiter that will be curious and intentionally press the button... then what do you think happens?
My thoughts exactly. I feel like there should be some sort of locking mechanism tied to toggling.
Re: Coin
#219SUPER clever idea -- kudos for that. In theory, this is awesome. As a consumer, I love it. As a merchant, however (which I am), there is no chance I would accept this. None. Unless the issuers (that is, Visa, MC, Amex) drastically change their policies, which I don't see happening anytime soon. Why? Because the issuers are very clear about a few things: When push comes to shove and it REALLY gets down to it, unless t…
I don't know why the US hasn't adopted EMV. It's not perfect, but it has cut down fraud massively here in Europe.
They're very hard to clone (I won't say impossible, but attacks against EMV have not generally been of this nature) and the transaction records at both ends will tell you whether the actual, real card was there.
The liability is more clear-cut as a result. If the customer claims the charge was unauthorised, that's between the bank and the customer.
--edit-- of course with EMV cards Coin would no longer be possible or relevant. Neat product, only useful in a magnetic-stripe world, which is at least a decade behind the curve now.
Theoretically with EMV you could put all your credit-cards on one chip and the terminal will either choose a supported default or present you a list, but that would require cross-bank cooperation, never going to happen.
Re: Coin
#220at least in the non-us market, this awesome idea comes a bit late: not only are chip + pin pretty much standard nowadays, and new means like contactless payment creditcards / nfc-payments are being rolled out now.
i really would love to see a one-card-for-all tho that supports chip + nfc, but my understanding is that card issuers are eager to ensure that this will not happen.