I'm pretty impressed with the design of their site. Probably one of the better that I've seen for a crowdfunding campaign. I'm considering pre-ordering, but hate how long you end up waiting once production inevitably gets pushed back... Has anyone seen any products similar to this?
Nice thing would be finally being able to get one of those minimalist wallets that are all over Kickstarter.
I've seen lots of people gripe about security and practicality, but outside of some pretty crazy edge cases (like a waiter decides he wants to screw you by changing what card you use) it seems like it'd work fine.
I preordered. Like @dave mentioned, I have one of those minimalist wallets from Kickstarter and I've removed all but three cards from my wallet. I'm hoping their app has all the functionality of Lemon which I've been using to keep track of all my rewards cards and insurance cards.
If I can replace the Lemon app with Coin then I'd be down to one physical card and one app. Wonder what kind of wallets are out there for a single card :)
But is it a worthwhile investment with the uprising of mobile payments? I mean obviously we aren't yet at a point where plastic is obsolete but I do believe that time is coming...
was thinking there are tons of stores with employees still trained to do identity checks... seems rather hit or miss how accepted this thing will be without signature box / ID area
This looks pretty cool but the thing that would get me (for now) is that a lot of times you go to a store and they swipe the card and they are prompted to enter the last 4 digits of the card or the CVN. I didn't see on their site exactly how the coin gets around this problem. (and of course now that I type this I see that @snapster has similar concerns).
@oppodude According to reviews "the Coin screen will display only the last 4 digits, the expiration date, and the CVV of the card loaded for use in making purchases." So as long as you're able to explain it to the person taking the card (which might be a challenge), it's at least there.
I just spent a 30-minute "personal review" with my boss where he discussed this at length. Which was nice, because we ran out of time and he had to rush the bit at the end about how I need to become more familiar with our style guide.
It looks pretty cool but the big sticking point for me is the battery. Lasts "up to two years" and then just quits. Can't be charged, can't be replaced. Every other year (or more) when the battery dies, you have to replace the entire card.
@The_Tim, Looking in my wallet and I guess I have some cards that have been in there for more than a couple years. But, honestly, a two-year battery sounds pretty good to me.
@The_Tim, I'm just happy (and a little surprised) they didn't try for a subscription model. But the battery issue basically turns it into an $8/month fee. If I use it a lot, it'll be worth that, and if I don't, the battery won't die as quickly.
@dave, Yeah that way of looking at it makes sense financially. For me it's probably a bit more than I'd pay but also I don't like the idea of disposable electronics. It just seems unnecessarily wasteful. I'm holding off on the Nest Protect for the same basic reason (non-replaceable internal CO sensor expires after seven years).
@The_Tim, That's reasonable with Coin, though I'd thought the 7-year issue was the case with all CO monitors. Do you just not check for CO issues instead? (Or do some have replaceable parts?)
@dave, Yeah it is an issue with all CO meters. We don't have gas or any other source of CO in my house so I don't actually have CO detectors but if I did I'd buy the least expensive one with the least amount of electronics inside.
I was interested in Nest Protect for the smoke detector plus remote thermostat features. Hopefully Nest comes out with a discounted replacement program that allows customers to send in their expired Nest Protect to have the sensor replaced so all of the non-expired electronic components don't just end up in a landfill.
Anyway sorry to veer off-topic! Coin is definitely cool. I'll wait for version two with a rechargeable battery.
Perhaps it's because I work in credit cards, or maybe I am the only person with a criminal mind here... but these could be used for the purpose of copying credit cards in an instant. The security risk that these devices produce far outweigh the convenience of the device.
Also, if someone gets your coin device, they can scan ALL of your cards into theirs. Is there something that I am missing here? Am I the only person that doesn't like having all of their eggs in one basket?
@capguncowboy, It has an autolock feature such that once you select the card and it goes out of range, you can't press the button to select a different card.
You also have to take photos of the cards which it uses to verify the swipe data, and it'll only let you use cards in your name (I believe).
You could argue it's more secure in some ways, since it only displays the last 4 + CCV. No one can do a manual entry of the data or snarf off the manual information. Camera-based skimmers won't work. Skimmers that read the magnetic one still will, but, its no worse than a "traditional card"
I'm pretty impressed with the design of their site. Probably one of the better that I've seen for a crowdfunding campaign. I'm considering pre-ordering, but hate how long you end up waiting once production inevitably gets pushed back... Has anyone seen any products similar to this?
Nice thing would be finally being able to get one of those minimalist wallets that are all over Kickstarter.
I've seen lots of people gripe about security and practicality, but outside of some pretty crazy edge cases (like a waiter decides he wants to screw you by changing what card you use) it seems like it'd work fine.
So I wonder if this is stopgap "until you don't need a card anymore at all" or are they thinking that cards are never going away.
Update: they reached their pre-order goal of $50,000 in 40 minutes. Seems like a pretty small goal though.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/14/coin-the-electronic-credit-card-reaches-its-pre-order-goal-in-40-minutes/
I preordered. Like @dave mentioned, I have one of those minimalist wallets from Kickstarter and I've removed all but three cards from my wallet. I'm hoping their app has all the functionality of Lemon which I've been using to keep track of all my rewards cards and insurance cards.
If I can replace the Lemon app with Coin then I'd be down to one physical card and one app. Wonder what kind of wallets are out there for a single card :)
But is it a worthwhile investment with the uprising of mobile payments? I mean obviously we aren't yet at a point where plastic is obsolete but I do believe that time is coming...
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-14/2014-outlook-easy-mobile-payments-in-reach
was thinking there are tons of stores with employees still trained to do identity checks... seems rather hit or miss how accepted this thing will be without signature box / ID area
I believe the back of your coin card has your name printed and a signature box.
@Shawn nicely done. I know it works with gift cards, rewards cards, pretty much anything with a magnetic stripe.
There is a Ann Arbor startup that has been working on a similar product. They're called Protean and their card is called Echo.
Very similar. I'll be interested to see who launches first!
This looks pretty cool but the thing that would get me (for now) is that a lot of times you go to a store and they swipe the card and they are prompted to enter the last 4 digits of the card or the CVN. I didn't see on their site exactly how the coin gets around this problem. (and of course now that I type this I see that @snapster has similar concerns).
@oppodude According to reviews "the Coin screen will display only the last 4 digits, the expiration date, and the CVV of the card loaded for use in making purchases." So as long as you're able to explain it to the person taking the card (which might be a challenge), it's at least there.
Hmn. In the words of Barney Stinson ... "Challenge .... wait for it .... accepted."
I just spent a 30-minute "personal review" with my boss where he discussed this at length. Which was nice, because we ran out of time and he had to rush the bit at the end about how I need to become more familiar with our style guide.
It looks pretty cool but the big sticking point for me is the battery. Lasts "up to two years" and then just quits. Can't be charged, can't be replaced. Every other year (or more) when the battery dies, you have to replace the entire card.
@The_Tim, Looking in my wallet and I guess I have some cards that have been in there for more than a couple years. But, honestly, a two-year battery sounds pretty good to me.
@shawn, True, but how many of those cards did you pay $100 for?
@The_Tim, I'm just happy (and a little surprised) they didn't try for a subscription model. But the battery issue basically turns it into an $8/month fee. If I use it a lot, it'll be worth that, and if I don't, the battery won't die as quickly.
@dave, Yeah that way of looking at it makes sense financially. For me it's probably a bit more than I'd pay but also I don't like the idea of disposable electronics. It just seems unnecessarily wasteful. I'm holding off on the Nest Protect for the same basic reason (non-replaceable internal CO sensor expires after seven years).
@The_Tim, That's reasonable with Coin, though I'd thought the 7-year issue was the case with all CO monitors. Do you just not check for CO issues instead? (Or do some have replaceable parts?)
@dave, Yeah it is an issue with all CO meters. We don't have gas or any other source of CO in my house so I don't actually have CO detectors but if I did I'd buy the least expensive one with the least amount of electronics inside.
I was interested in Nest Protect for the smoke detector plus remote thermostat features. Hopefully Nest comes out with a discounted replacement program that allows customers to send in their expired Nest Protect to have the sensor replaced so all of the non-expired electronic components don't just end up in a landfill.
Anyway sorry to veer off-topic! Coin is definitely cool. I'll wait for version two with a rechargeable battery.
Perhaps it's because I work in credit cards, or maybe I am the only person with a criminal mind here... but these could be used for the purpose of copying credit cards in an instant. The security risk that these devices produce far outweigh the convenience of the device.
Also, if someone gets your coin device, they can scan ALL of your cards into theirs. Is there something that I am missing here? Am I the only person that doesn't like having all of their eggs in one basket?
@capguncowboy, Convenience über alles!
@capguncowboy, It has an autolock feature such that once you select the card and it goes out of range, you can't press the button to select a different card.
You also have to take photos of the cards which it uses to verify the swipe data, and it'll only let you use cards in your name (I believe).
You could argue it's more secure in some ways, since it only displays the last 4 + CCV. No one can do a manual entry of the data or snarf off the manual information. Camera-based skimmers won't work. Skimmers that read the magnetic one still will, but, its no worse than a "traditional card"
@capguncowboy If it moves a certain distance away from your phone it deactivates.
Interest is piqued, but I'll wait until the third round so that all of the security glitches are worked out...
i pre-ordered. yeah, i'm a sucker for new techy things.