This smart credit card has a cellphone antenna inside
Your credit card is about to get a lot smarter.
Dynamics Inc. and Sprint announced at CES 2018 a reprogrammable payment card that can be used for a bunch of different accounts: debit, credit, loyalty, and any other transaction that uses a magnetic strip.
But this card has an extra innovation: It's one of the first cards with a cellphone chip inside, and it's coming to U.S. banks.
The idea of a reprogrammable credit card isn't all that spectacular or new. The company Plastc famously disintegrated after raising $9 million through a popular crowdfunding campaign. But this card could be different because its creator, Dynamics Inc., is already working with banks around the world using similar technology.
It's called Wallet Card technically, but when it's finally released to consumers, it will most likely be called whatever the bank, or issuer, decides.
The cellphone antenna in the card let's it communicate directly with the bank. This can come in handy for things like getting a card replaced, sending special offers directly to the card, downloading a new card's security information, or locking an account in the case of an emergency.
The prototype was extremely easy to use. It has a small e-ink readout on the front and two clickable buttons. You scroll through your different options by clicking the buttons. The one we used was storing four different cards.
Another interesting feature: Wallet Card never runs out of battery because of a small, organic chip that recharges itself. It still fits in a normal wallet even though it has a minuscule battery bump.
So how in the world is this going to compete against newer technology like Apple Pay and Venmo? A company spokesperson explained it has a slight edge in at least some situations, specifically ATMs, where magnetic strip cards are required.
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Topics CES
