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Apr 12, 2001
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While Apple is reportedly working hard on its own mobile payment service, Boston-based startup Loop has just released its own mobile payments device -- one that works at most traditional U.S. retail outlets. The Loop Fob is a small device that allows users to store credit card information on the iPhone, and then wirelessly pay at any traditional magnetic stripe reader.

loopfob.png
It uses "Magnetic Secure Transmission" to create a small magnetic field via an inductive loop. That magnetic field is detected by the read head of a traditional swipe credit card reader, fooling the device into thinking a normal credit card has been swiped. As a result, the device allows any credit card to be digitally stored in an iPhone and used as needed. It's a direct competitor to the Coin prototype electronic credit card that attracted attention last year, only it's been released to the world already. Loop recently took a $10 million funding round based on the success of its Loop Fob Kickstarter campaign.

The Loop Fob can be used while attached to the iPhone, or it can store a single card and be used separately at restaurants and bars. The company says payment data is encrypted and stored on the Loop Fob device, and no credit card info is ever stored on the iPhone.

loop.jpg
Loop also has a dedicated $99 iPhone case in the works which will be released later this year. It will allow Loop owners to make touchless credit card payments without needing a separate hardware device. All the necessary technology will be built into the iPhone case. The fob will still be used to read credit cards for storage, however.
With its patented technology, payment card data is encrypted and stored in dedicated hardware secure memory, within the Loop Fob or any Loop enabled device. Partnering with payment card issuers, Loop's technology can also generate dynamic card data every time a payment is made, making such data unusable for those trying to clone a card. Its contactless chip does not wear out and fits into virtually any form factor that consumers want to carry - from smartphones to fobs, to charge cases, to smart watches, the possibilities are limitless.
The LoopWallet app can be downloaded from the App Store, while the Loop Fob adapter can be purchased for $39. The $99 Loop iPhone case will be released later this year.

Article Link: 'Loop Fob' Allows Swipeless Credit Card Purchases at Any Traditional Swipe Terminal
 

KdParker

macrumors 601
Oct 1, 2010
4,793
998
Everywhere
Seems like a waste of time to add an adapter then swipe my phone.

I could just as quickly (if not faster) used the actual credit card.
 
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aajeevlin

macrumors 65816
Mar 25, 2010
1,427
715
Seems like a waste of time to add an adapter then swipe my phone.

I could just as quickly (if not faster0 used the actual credit card.

I think the point is that you don't have to carry a wallet full of credits with you.....
 

sulpfiction

macrumors 68040
Aug 16, 2011
3,075
603
Philadelphia Area
Yeah, I want to carry a fob around in my pocket, then plug it into my phone when I want to buy something. Stupid!

Quicker to pull out my debit card.

----------

I think the point is that you don't have to carry a wallet full of credits with you.....

But this product isn't going to make me stop carrying a wallet..which contains my credit cards. The fob is just another thing to worry about it my pocket. This product just screams epic failure.
 

Moofo

macrumors newbie
Jan 12, 2011
28
58
Picture is misleading

Right, so you carry some platic tab in your pocket/then tell app which card to use?

How is this more convenient?

Look at the video.

The "Plastic Tab" is only to load your cards in the phone. You need an accessory like a keychain fob, or a custom and special iphone case with what I assume is NFC communication circuit.

The picture is misleading.
 

Drumjim85

macrumors 68030
Oct 7, 2007
2,603
229
DFW, TX
Seems like a waste of time to add an adapter then swipe my phone.

I could just as quickly (if not faster) used the actual credit card.

Someone didn't watch the video.

When you go to pay, you open the app, and the case (or fob) sends the card info to the scanner, no swiping.
 

Jesla

macrumors 6502a
Jan 7, 2013
541
170
Tennessee USA
umm.... watch the video, you don't need the fob unless you
plan to just use the fob separately such as giving it to a server
at a fine dinning restaurant.
 

aajeevlin

macrumors 65816
Mar 25, 2010
1,427
715
Right, so you carry some platic tab in your pocket/then tell app which card to use?

How is this more convenient?

The idea is that you pre register all your credit card with the machine, then information then stored in your phone. The plastic tab idea is actually new (even for the company), when I learned about this project late last year they only had the iPhone case option. I don't know much about the plastic tab thing, but the iPhone case idea I think it's more useful.
 

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,055
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
This IS stupid. You're going to spend more time trying to get that thing not to move when swiping than you will actually using it. Another thing to stick in your pockets too.

Plus, you absolutely have no time to fumble with an app in the checkout. That just adds to store traffic which is already bad enough.

Debit/Credit Cards are not hard to carry if you have the right wallet setup. If anything, ditch your loyalty cards first and stick those in Passbook/1Password/oneSafe/etc to make it lighter. Most places can bring your account up with a phone number or simply the number anyway.
 

Drumjim85

macrumors 68030
Oct 7, 2007
2,603
229
DFW, TX
Here's a few things I don't like about this:
1. It doesn't work at a gas station or ATM type reader.
2. When I'm at a restaurant or bar, I'd either have to give my phone to the server, or go back and put my phone up to their POS myself.
3. I would still need to carry my wallet around because this tech doesn't work %100
 

rdlink

macrumors 68040
Nov 10, 2007
3,226
2,435
Out of the Reach of the FBI
It's intriguing, and if they had a case available today I might bite. But I am lined up for a coin when it comes out, and I think that Apple may put technology in the iP6 that obsoletes both of them.
 

Drumjim85

macrumors 68030
Oct 7, 2007
2,603
229
DFW, TX
Also, all of these payment companies, coin included, will be dead next year when the US moves to Chip-and-Pin cards.
 

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,101
19,603
This will fail. Don't add clutter, reduce it.

iBeacons is the future. It uses Bluetooth, which is a fairly standard technology. It has greater range and is secure. When Apple unveils their payment solution, using iBeacons and TouchID it will be amazing.
 

iPhD

macrumors member
Jun 22, 2007
66
64
I wonder if Jonny Ive cringes every time a third-party creates a case to hide the beautiful chamfered edge.

Maybe that's me doing the cringing. I don't like hiding the phone in a case. It's not supposed to be pink or tacky to the touch. The phone is glass and metal and smooth and shiny and I like that.
 

jayers

macrumors newbie
Feb 19, 2014
2
0
The idea is that you pre register all your credit card with the machine, then information then stored in your phone. The plastic tab idea is actually new (even for the company), when I learned about this project late last year they only had the iPhone case option. I don't know much about the plastic tab thing, but the iPhone case idea I think it's more useful.

The Fob is a convenient way to pay without your wallet. The Fob will be attached to your keys (there are a lot of times I don't want to carry my wallet). The case will be a sleek solution for when you have your phone with you. Loop's solution has no limit to form factor. Loop says in a video that soon it will be built-in to phones and watches. That's when things will get real crazy.
 

jayers

macrumors newbie
Feb 19, 2014
2
0
Here's a few things I don't like about this:
1. It doesn't work at a gas station or ATM type reader.
2. When I'm at a restaurant or bar, I'd either have to give my phone to the server, or go back and put my phone up to their POS myself.
3. I would still need to carry my wallet around because this tech doesn't work %100

1. Loop is working with Gas and ATM vendors. Gas stations do have normal POS inside that will work with your Loop.
2. Many restaurants are now using the remote pay terminals that waitpeople carry around. Even the pizza delivery guy carries a POS with him.
3. Loop is working and testing each day to get closer to that 100%.
 

SeanMcg

macrumors 6502
Jun 1, 2004
333
1
What I like about the concept at least is that it takes existing, long-proven, entrenched technology in the magnetic read head, and finds a different way to access it. This lessens the need for some vendors to buy/acquire whole new hardware to support NFC technologies.
 

Zxxv

macrumors 68040
Nov 13, 2011
3,558
1,104
UK
No thanks. Don't want to add stuff to my phone. Especially at that price. Sat waiting for apple to sort this :)
 

thomasdeal

macrumors newbie
Feb 19, 2014
8
0
Loop Fob Comment

Seems like a waste of time to add an adapter then swipe my phone.

I could just as quickly (if not faster) used the actual credit card.

It's more than just an adaptor, and there will be a Charge case available in a couple of months. It connects to a Wallet that can carry your credit cards, gift cards, ID's and more, and it's secure. I got one on Kickstarter. Works great, and merchants get a kick out of it when I use it.
 
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