I guess this is all on individual cases. But in the US I probably withdraw money from ATM at most twice a year, and because it's so infrequent I actually have to look for my debit card every time I have to go. So ATM is not so much of an issues for me, and I can say that for most of my friends. I think having apple pay distribute to more merchant is what I'm really hoping for, especially gas station or hole-in-the-wall stores/restaurants.
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'Plastc' Smart Payment Card Aims to Replace Card-Stuffed Wallets
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I guess this is all on individual cases. But in the US I probably withdraw money from ATM at most twice a year, and because it's so infrequent I actually have to look for my debit card every time I have to go. So ATM is not so much of an issues for me, and I can say that for most of my friends. I think having apple pay distribute to more merchant is what I'm really hoping for, especially gas station or hole-in-the-wall stores/restaurants.
I don't think Apple Pay will take off. iPhones die all the time you'd never be able to use it. Plus, barely anybody would accept it.
Apple Pay will take a while to be enough places. You will always need traditional cards.
This is great in that it can store Gift Cards, Work Access Cards, etc. And way better than Coin which with the Beta fiasco, I jumped ship on, and considering that it holds 20 cards to Coin's 8, it is a huge improvement, as well as the interface.
However, between Pebble, Coin, Vacuvita, and Lockitron, of which I have only ever received Pebble and cancelled my Coin and Lockitron, I am a bit weary of Pre-orders that are that far out and will most likely get delayed. At least some charge you when it ships, but these guys need some Venture Capital and not my $155 up front. For $75, I may have been talked into paying for a product a year out. But not at twice the price.
This is great in that it can store Gift Cards, Work Access Cards, etc. And way better than Coin which with the Beta fiasco, I jumped ship on, and considering that it holds 20 cards to Coin's 8, it is a huge improvement, as well as the interface.
However, between Pebble, Coin, Vacuvita, and Lockitron, of which I have only ever received Pebble and cancelled my Coin and Lockitron, I am a bit weary of Pre-orders that are that far out and will most likely get delayed. At least some charge you when it ships, but these guys need some Venture Capital and not my $155 up front. For $75, I may have been talked into paying for a product a year out. But not at twice the price.
Only in the USA, potentially remaining that way for at least a year.Pay is going to start any day now.
Whereas this card could be launched now or in 8 months time, and it's already supported worldwide.
Their video shows a reader that you attach to your lightning port and swipe the card. I assume this grabs all card data.
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At the end of the day I want a combination of Passbook apps, specific apps, Apple Pay, and something like this. To reduce the wallet. I dislike punch cards, and prefer dining places that have apps for ordering and earning free food. And ideally I would like all my wallet items short of my ID, and cash, and a single credit card - where Plastc would be great - to transition to my phone. Passbook is gaining steam for Airline boarding passes, hotel reservations, concert tickets, etc.
I'm amazed you don't have chip and pin cards in the US. I've had one for 23 years. Very few retailers in the UK will accept a swipe and sign only card because they're not insured against fraud if they do. Most UK retailers won't even accept cheques now which is why they're being phased out altogether by the banking industry in the next few years.
As for NFC I got my first wireless card a few months ago and I use it wherever I can now. I don't think the retailers are being lazy. It costs money to install the NFC compatible terminals and most people are happy to use the chip and pin instead.
My Coin, that hasn't even arrived yet, is already obsolete 
If everything their promising actually arrives on time, then I'll be very impressed.
Let me remind you who is actually using it at launch
https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/
Besides Disney store, every one listed there is in any medium to large sized city in the united states. Every mall across america has each of those major retailers.
There's still more coming too. This will take off and people will use it.
If everything their promising actually arrives on time, then I'll be very impressed.
Let me remind you who is actually using it at launch
https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/
Besides Disney store, every one listed there is in any medium to large sized city in the united states. Every mall across america has each of those major retailers.
There's still more coming too. This will take off and people will use it.
Thanks. I agree with you that a combination of this plus Apple Pay would be the ideal solution especially if I could also add on all my loyalty cards that currently don't support passbook and don't have an iPhone app alternative to those stupid plastic cards that clog up my wallet.
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The rest of us don't even have iTunes Radio twelve months after they launched in the US and Australia so I'm not exactly holding my breath. I would use this now if it was available here but sadly I think it might be a long wait. That could present an opportunity for these new smart cards to gain a foothold outside the US before we all get access to Apple Pay.
We're starting to get chip cards in the US. I have two. The problem is, I have yet to find a single retailer that accepts chip. Oh, they all have chip capable PIN pads. They just have the readers disabled and you have to swipe.
On the plus side, I was able to use my chip cards in Germany last week without any issue. At least where cards were accepted. I don't know what it is about Germany, but they still very much are a cash based society while it seems like the rest of the Western World wouldn't bat an eye if you used plastic to pay for an 89 cent pack of gum at a 7-11.
Android has Google Wallet and ISIS, Apple pay will help boost NFC in the US as a whole.
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Walmart has active chip readers, as well as some Home Depots. All HDs should have it by years end. Target beginning of 2015, and WAG Too.
So do they have an actual working prototype? It just seems fitting an eInk display, touch layer, NFC, bluetooth, inductive charging, writable RFID, and a battery seems to be a lot to fit into a credit card sized device.
I guess most things could be turned "off", like the eInk which just uses power to change content, and the RFID tag would just need power to be rewritten as well. So maybe it is possible.
I guess most things could be turned "off", like the eInk which just uses power to change content, and the RFID tag would just need power to be rewritten as well. So maybe it is possible.
We had a perfect stopgap other than Hybrid cars, the Chevy EV-1, thank you oil companies for killing it.
So far, damn near every store I have been in has the 'Tap To Pay' system installed, and I have actually seen a few (2) people actually use it...
I remember the chips in the American Express Cards were ubiquitous, yet the only place I saw that actually had a reader was the old Virgin Megastores, and the last one that I went in to said that the system didn't work, yet from what I hear, the 'chip' cards are all over the place in Europe. But then again, so is 'public transportation'. Such quaint ideas...
I think that NFC will be a harder sell than the chip cards (again). But I could be wrong...
Look how RFID has been relegated to warehouse and order management... I still remember the commercials showing the guy pushing his cart through the 'checkout style', and the items ringing themselves up automatically and his credit card being charged for the items. I wouldn't trust that system as far as you could kick it. I was overcharged $40.00 for an item just last week!
Gotta watch them like a hawk...
My guess is they've discovered a way of thinning out all those components, and don't actually have a credit card sized prototype yet.
Eink with touch layer, NFC/RFID, inductive charging - all things that could be wafer thin anyway.
Battery, a push. It wouldn't need much power, so the battery can be tiny. Bluetooth chips seems to be getting smaller, and are certainly smaller than a little finger nail or a penny these days. I dunno about thickness, but I could imagine it being thin enough to be in a credit card now. You can get SD cards with WiFi built in, and they're no thicker than a credit card, so Bluetooth should be doable too.
The reason why it is sold to consumers is banks turned down the concept of programmable credit cards over ten years ago. I see this as a loser for several reasons.
1) Confiscations. It now becomes now a technical effort instead of the classic "grab and cut" in front of the customer that has been around since the 70's.
2) ID theft. This makes credit card cloning way too easy.
3) Loss. You loose this card and you loose multiple credit cards at once.
4) Data integrity. Since it is programmable, what are the chances of data corruption in the Flash memory inside the card? What about card bending, static electricity, humidity and electromagnetic interference? The simple mangetic strip card has been around for almost fourty years because it passes all these stress tests.
5) Replacement. Here the cost is higher. Most banks will send you a new credit card overnight just so you can keep on spending. This company? What is their replacement policy?
6) Branding. Banks love to have custom and colorful artwork on their cards. This card reduces the corporate image of the company to an ePaper gray scale display.
Contactless payments are certainly a thing in the UK. Within the last year, there's been so many more places implement it. Even London Buses have contactless terminals.
McDs have had it for ages, most coffee shops have it now. Many convenience stores have it, with more popping up all the time.
I've only had to use Chip+Pin twice recently - once because the NFC reader wasn't working, and second time to withdraw some cash.
Your "could be launched now or in 8 months" prognosis is in contradiction with their statement that it is "expected" to launch next summer, which is, best case scenario, over 8 months from now. Fortunately by that time we will all have a clearer idea how prevalent the
Pay system is. I suspect that a combination of both would be ideal IF the security of this card is sufficient.
In Germany credit cards are popular for bigger items, but most people use Bank Debit Cards for day-to-day purchases. Chip and pin has been strong here for a lot of years
Wow. This sounds a lot more exciting than ApplePay. ApplePay requires a new iPhone, and it requires the merchant to support it, which as we know is slow as hell usually, and some places will never support it. This works out of the box with no support necessary from anyone.
Only question is: how the hell does a battery, touchscreen, memory, and a whole bunch of other chips fit into a 0.8mm thin piece of plastic? I mean even nowadays that sounds a bit impossible...
Only question is: how the hell does a battery, touchscreen, memory, and a whole bunch of other chips fit into a 0.8mm thin piece of plastic? I mean even nowadays that sounds a bit impossible...
This thing is going to be huge. Oh wait, it's not 2012? Most major phones are shipping with NFC? Ok then, never mind. Actually I probably wouldn't have even purchased this in 2012 knowing that NFC iPhones were just around the corner. Whoever invests in this is an idiot. At $155 you eliminate most potential buyers: Those who don't have a newer smart phone. For $199 you can get an iPhone 6 with payment capabilities baked in, and you don't have to carry around extra items. Who is this thing targeted at then? Certainly not luddites. And you also need a smartphone to manage the thing. I just don't understand who this is forand when you have to ask basic questions like that, you know a product is in trouble.
I think that Apple Pay (and NFC payments as a whole) will be widely available in the US more than some realize. In the past few weeks alone I've seen many stores with these or similar terminals now being used. Even in places not listed as ApplePay partners.
Granted it won't be everywhere right away, but most places many people shop will have it out the gate.
I think the card has uses even in the Apple Pay world. I'd be interested in getting a card to store loyalty cards and cash cards to reduce my wallet.
I currently use contactless for all public transport in London and it's so much easier. I often only carry the one card now though and at some point that card might fail and I'll be stuck.
I currently use contactless for all public transport in London and it's so much easier. I often only carry the one card now though and at some point that card might fail and I'll be stuck.