Coin
 

Has anyone else checked this out and preordered?

Coin is device that allows one to import the card information of your Credit, Debit, etc type cards (that have magnetic stripes) and use the device instead of the actual hard with your normal day to day in person purchases.

Seems pretty neat and a very cool way to reduce card clutter in your wallet.



I went ahead and preordered one, won't be getting it till Summer of 2014, but if you act now you can get one for 1/2 the price they will be at launch. Plus they currently have a referral program that can allow someone to basically get their Coin for free.

I did link to my referral link above, if you don't want to click on my referral link the website Coin » Use One Coin for All of Your Cards.

Article I read on Forbes about it.

i like it

but i think all cards in the future (along with keys) will just become part of cell phones. but that's neither here nor there i guess

That's kinda cool. What's this about a referral program? And how much do they cost?

Why are they charging me for it now but not delivering until Summer 2014? That's fucking shady.

The normal price is $100, but currently $50 for preorder. I assume the referral program is just a way to get the word out and try to market the device.

They are basically doing a Kickstarter like program to help pay for their costs of setting up shop upfront. This is typical to how many of these types of innovations work lately, not really shady at all.

Agreed, many people look at this as a stopgap till that finally happens.

That can't be too far away now that contactless payment is starting to appear everywhere. Most high end smart phones now have NFC, so the technology is there.

I don't know that the "Coin" would work in Europe as I have not swiped any of my cards for over 5 years. Everything is "Chip & Pin" over here.

Ok - so am I the only one who had the thought - "If I was a criminal this would be a great way to steal money from people, swipe their cards and take an imprint" ....

Yes, and would be a good reason to get any type of job that handles card transactions.

the more i think about this the more useless i see it. do i really need to pay $50 (soon $100) to consolidate my 4 credit/debit cards into 1? not really.

especially since there is an 8 card limit that coin can hold. it's pretty much all flash and no substance. it's cool, but serves very little purpose.

This is a dead tech before it even gets out of the gates.

Yeah the FAQ covers that and says it currently won't work there.

The FAQ covers this.

Hmm....a waiter would definitely be in physical possession of other people's cards and could certainly snap a picture of it. Not sure I get the last part about only adding "cards you own". Even if it restricts by name or by some other means, it doesnt stop the device itself from being (relatively easily) rooted to not care.

The device requires the application on your phone (and I'm assuming you logged in to said application) in order to add a card to your account. I would also assume they use a verification process similar to other systems to verify that the user of the account is the user of the credit card.

Yeah this is a completely frivolous trinket.

And when it gets scratched/ degaussed in a wallet in a year and doesnt work?
Another $100?

$100 is wayyyy too high a price point for this, as people have pointed out.

Even $50 is wayyyy too high. For $20 or something - okay maybe.

Shit - you could even make it ad-supported and sell the ads in order to reduce the price, like this: Have one card (that doesn't count towards the limit) pre-loaded on there that's linked up to your "Coin account." Then you're required to give them an email address & physical address. They can sell that information to companies who will pay them for that/pay them to put exclusive coupons in front of you.

Boom - you've just turned it from an expensive vanity toy into something that's far less expensive, and also comes with bonuses.

Well evidently many of you are not in their target market. I like the tech involved and am willing to support it for the current price. At $100 I do think it's a stretch that I would ever purchase it again.

What are the chances that retailers will accept payment from this device, especially when it is brand new? If I have not seen or heard about the Coin, there is no way I am going to swipe an electronic device.

It currently has a two year lifespan, which is shorter than the three years my credit cards are valid. This will need to be addressed pretty quickly, or the price will need to drop considerably.

Right and in the US cards routinely have much longer validity dates. Our debit card is good through 2020 for example and its at least a year old

Wow, my three year old debit card was a mess when I finally cut it up. I can't image what kind of state an 8 year old card will be in, especially if you need to swipe it every time you use it.

The problem with long validity dates is that you can't update the technology easily. If the US wants to introduce Chip & Pin or contactless payment to a wide audience, it will take years to hit the mainstream unless all the card providers replace the cards years before the expiry date.

It should be free to the consumer (subsidized by business)

Should make it easier for the waiter to steal all my credit #s instead of just one.

That was my thought - if you made it ad-supported or subsidized by business you could get it down to free to consumer.

Not so sure about this. From the looks of it, the waiter will never see your credit card number, and there's security against them recording the coin 'card'.

Not a fan of the device but that "article" is as "junky" as it says the Coin is.

So basically same as any other cloning system - you take the card in a restaurant go to a backroom and clone the card then return it to the 'customer' while retaining the ability to spend their money .... not at all reassuring ..

Is there a ship date for this awesomeness yet?

i know i weighed in before, but i still firmly believe this is "tech for techs sake" and remains a terrible idea.

but good for these guys for hopefully getting rich in the 2 year window or so they have.

This is what I got today....

Yeah, they are going to have a tough road with the "chip and pin" standards that are coming out. They will almost have to partner up with card issuers in order to be able to be compatible with EMV.

New Email.

Apple just put a big dent in the Coin business model.

bye coin.

i do enjoy being right from time to time.

coIn

Has anyone gotten a Beta Coin yet?

I asked for my refund about 2 weeks before they supposedly started "shipping".

Oh look there is another one out there now...

Swyp

And now there's Plastc.

$155 - it's interesting how these have been getting more expensive over time.