If your wallet's starting to get a little too thick to fit in your pocket, Coin might be able to lighten your load. That's Coin, not coins.It looks no different than a standard credit card, but is actually a small device that can act as a credit card, debit card or gift card. The device is available for pre-order and expected to start shipping this summer.
Coin, a credit-card-like device, is set for a summer 2014 launch.Coin swipes like an ordinary card. The difference is, the card holds up to eight credit cards, debit cards or gift cards. Coin provides a dongle device to users that connects to their phone and an app that lets you download the card info. Founded by former PayPal developer Kanishk Parashar, Coin users plug a magnetic strip reader into a smartphone, swipe their cards, and sync their information through the company's app.
In order to make a payment, users tap a button on the Coin card and pick which account they want to pay with, whether it's a business credit card or a personal debit card. After picking an account, the Coin card is swiped through, no different than any other card.
It may seem a little risky to keep all your financial accounts bound to a single card. However, Parashar and his colleagues have engineered security measures into Coin. All communication between the Coin card, app and servers are heavily encrypted. Thus all financial information would be secured.
In addition, Coin cards themselves broadcast a low-power Bluetooth signal that detects where your smartphone is. It works on the concept of being on a leash. If you're walking away from your card and go out of range of the Bluetooth, your phone will then set an alert. But even if you miss that alert, you don't have to worry about other people using your card. After a certain period of time (determined by the user), Coin will automatically deactivate and stop other people from using it.
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