San Francisco-based start-up Coin is bidding to slim wallets with a new payment card-sized device which can store all the details of users' credit, debit, gift and membership cards within its memory and be used in their place.
The Coin device has a battery which lasts for two years and a dynamic magnetic strip that can be changed instantaneously to mimic any of the cards in its memory. Users scroll through the options by pressing a button, with the details of each card shown on a small screen.
Once a card has been selected, it can be used as normal to make payments at the point of sale and for ATM withdrawals.
To add cards, users download an app to their Android or iOS devices and attach an accompanying dongle through which they swipe the cards. The card data is then automatically uploaded to Coin via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). BLE is also used to alert a user, through the app, if they stray too far from their Coin.
The start-up says that it enforces 128-bit encryption across its servers, apps and in the device itself and is "in the process" of earning PCI DSS certification. Designed for the US market, the device does not support chip and PIN although - with EMV finally set to arrive in the States in 2015 - future generations will get the improved security standard.
The Coin team opened its site yesterday for pre-orders as part of a crowdfunding campaign to raise $50,000, and according to TechCrunch, reached its goal in 40 minutes. The firm aims to ship devices in summer 2014 for $100, or $50 for crowdfunding backers.