One Coin to rule them all
Coin is a credit card-sized device that stores up to eight credit, debit, loyalty, or membership cards. You no longer need to carry all eight cards. You simple swipe them in to the device via a card reader, take a picture of the credit card (so you can see which one it is in the mobile app), and you are finished.
When you are ready to pay, it allows you to toggle between these eight cards by pressing a button on the front of the device, letting you see the last four numbers of the card on the built-in screen. You can swipe Coin just as you would a credit card, in any card reader or at an ATM. And while the mobile app gives you a great deal of features and settings, you do not need to have your phone with you to use Coin.
Security concerns addressed
If you are worried about all of your credit cards being stored in one place; think about it like this: it’s really no different than carrying all eight with you in your wallet; you are simply eliminating the bulk of those cards. Coin data is encrypted on your phone and on the card itself. Coin functions in exactly the same way your traditional credit cards would, in fact, Coin states, “Coin is less susceptible to some card skimming techniques that take a picture of the card as it is swiped, since Coin does not display the full card details on the device. Coin is no less susceptible than your current cards to other forms of skimming that capture data encoded in the magnetic stripe as the card is swiped.”
Additionally, there is a Bluetooth link between your Coin and your smartphone, so should you ever leave your Coin behind, your phone will alert you that you have lost it. After a few minutes, the Coin will deactivate itself, or you can deactivate it manually from the mobile app. So, in essence it is no different than any other credit card, just more convenient.
This could be really nice for business lunches. You can carry Coin, tap through to your business credit card and pay for lunch. Then, if you want to make additional purchases while you are out, you can still use the same “credit card/Coin” and tap through to your personal credit or debit card. The ability to use multiple payment methods from one card is a great way to simplify payment.
Coin is available for iPhone and Android users. Each Coin is $100, but during pre-order, you can get one for $50.
