Major Delays, Revamped Beta For Credit-Card Consolidating Gadget Coin

The premise behind Coin is attractive: consolidate credit cards onto a single card-sized gadget. However, on Friday the company announced a delay in the release of its final version from this summer to spring of 2015, and in a way that angered many of the project's crowd-funding backers. The announcement of a delay was not only sudden, and quite close to the previously announced shipping date, but upset those who'd pre-ordered by outlining a confusing beta program that would involve an interim product release — recipients of the beta version (limited to 10,000) would have had to then pay $30 to upgrade to the final product. As CNET reports, the delay until 2015 remains, but with regard to that beta program, Coin has now reversed its stance. The beta program will be free -- meaning preorder customers who opt-in will no longer forfeit the $55 they paid and will still receive the finished Coin product next year. The program will also expand from 10,000 customers to 15,000. Regardless of whether your smartphone is running Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating system, preorder customers can opt-in to Coin's beta program through its app and will be eligible for a device if they fall within the 15,000-person threshold. The order is determined by when you bought your Coin. Coin customers, some who placed orders as far back as November 2013 when the startup first opened its website for preorders, were displeased not so much with the product delay as with the way Coin handled the situation. The company had, as recently as August 14, sent out an update explaining that a long-awaited shipping announcement would arrive at month's end --yet without an indication that it may miss its shipping target.

Comments

Won't work with new chips

[jonnythan]

All the major credit card companies will be rolling out soon-to-be-mandatory chip systems for their credit cards. The point of this chip is specifically to prevent copying of credit cards. Coin is dead in the water.

Beyond this, how many register monkeys will decline the transaction because it's not the original card? I was trained at my old retail job by an actual Mastercard representative never to allow use of a credit card without a signed back, much less a card that's literally a personal copy.

Re:Won't work with new chips

[Charliemopps]

All the major credit card companies will be rolling out soon-to-be-mandatory chip systems for their credit cards. The point of this chip is specifically to prevent copying of credit cards. Coin is dead in the water.

Beyond this, how many register monkeys will decline the transaction because it's not the original card? I was trained at my old retail job by an actual Mastercard representative never to allow use of a credit card without a signed back, much less a card that's literally a personal copy.

When I worked retail as a teenager for minimum wage, I could not have cared less. You could have handed me an unripened Banana and if it made the register beep and the display said you paid, I was done. One employee chased a shoplifter out of the store once and caught them. Later the rest of us were laughing at him. I didn't get paid enough to run, much less after potentially armed criminals.

Re:Won't work with new chips

[jonnythan]

It varies. A lot of retail workers won't care, but some will. Especially the ones who are smart enough to be aware of credit card fraud but not so knowledgeable they know about Coin.

I don't think someone would have to be turned down from a purchase many times before they threw the thing in the garbage. It doesn't have to happen often.

Re:Won't work with new chips

[mysidia]

A lot of retail workers won't care, but some will. Especially the ones who are smart enough to be aware of credit card fraud but not so knowledgeable they know about Coin.

In my opinion, they will learn pretty darn fast, or they will get fired. As long as Coin is legal, and the credit card companies decide to allow it.

The thing is.... the cardmember agreement says your Credit Card is The credit card company's property The physical card does not belong to you, the consumer, and you have no right to make a copy of it, So Coin DOES have to be authorized by Mastercard, Visa, Etc, and I would expect the retail employees to be trained to accept it.

If they refuse, I will be asking to speak to a manager and make a complaint about the employee, which I will follow up in writing to the retail establishment and to some officials at their corporate HQ.

Problems getting merchants to accept it?

[putaro]

Technically, I see how it works but why would a merchant accept this thing? It doesn't look like a credit card and it's missing all of the anti-fraud elements built into the physical cards. According to their FAQ, Coin is trying to substitute an image on your smart phone plus their gadget for your physical card but I don't see that any of the actual credit card issuers are actually endorsing this. As a merchant you might be in violation of your merchant agreement by accepting this thing.

Outdated before it launches

[nemesisrocks]

Outside of the US, Chip & Pin is king. In many parts of Europe, you can't even use a card that doesn't have a chip. No chip, no pay.

In Australia, for purchases under $100, you use Paypass/Paywave. Simply tap and go.

Coin is a cool idea, but it's stillborn. It would have been cool 10 years ago, but the world moved on.

Major flaw in design

[danknight48]

Considering this:
- Most card readers today use the smart chip only.
- By using this, your bank will probably remove any support and blocking for your card and account.
- When scanning and taking a picture of the card. Your essentially giving your card info to a program, on a device with little or no security.
- Looking at the video, it shows you your pin number for that card on the unit.
- Complete failure in the video: Theres nothing to stop the restaurant waiter from pressing the button to change selected card.

Theres a million other reasons why this device is completely idiotic. Clearly someone had an idea and money before doing research or using common sense.
I hope this device succeeds as it will soon fail when its users report stolen account transactions, which, your bank will not resolve.

We need this why?

[pla]

The premise behind Coin is attractive: consolidate credit cards onto a single card-sized gadget

First, calling this thing "credit card sized" amounts to nothing short of a lie - More like a PCMCIA-card sized, or about four credit cards thick. It wouldn't fit in my current wallet, which doesn't even like holding the older embossed-number style cards because of the extra thickness.

Second, my credit/debit/gift cards already come on credit card-sized devices. And they don't need batteries.

Third, how many cards do people have that they need this? One credit card, one ATM card, and on the rare occasion I get a gift card for something, I use it ASAP to avoid some crazy terms of service eating the balance away. As the only possible audience I see for this, the sort of crazy coupon ladies who have two dozen store-specific cards just so they can play games with juggling discounts and no-payments-for-x-months - And even in that case, Coin only holds eight cards total, making it still useless.

And finally, NFC has made the entire concept pointless. Coin has built dedicated hardware to do something that every smartphone (except the iPhone, because fuck you that's why) on the planet can do much, much better.

So someone explain to me what I've missed here... What killer use have I failed to consider for the Coin?

Re:I'm missing something about this product, I thi

[Captain Nitpick]

You must not be in the US. I've never had a card with a chip. Mine doesn't even have raised letters, the only option is the magnetic strip. I suspect the US is the target audience for this.

Chips are coming in the US. The credit card processors are shifting fraud liability in October 2015. Merchants will have to take responsibility for fraud committed on mag stripe transactions, but not chipped ones.