Coin 2.0 credit card replacement announced with NFC tap-to-pay, free for existing Coin users
Just after the Coin credit card replacement began shipping to early adopters, the company has announced a new next-generation model with a number of changes, including support for NFC tap-to-pay functionality, available for preorder now, and as a free upgrade for existing users.
The new Coin 2.0 also gives users the ability to give their card a nickname that appears in the app and on the card's e-paper screen. The electronic stripe on the rear of the card is also said to perform better at gas stations and other merchants.
Over-the-air software updates are in the works too, which will bring EMV capabilities and new features. Coin claims this will make the device future-proof, unlike the current model, which could be rejected at numerous merchants once the chip-and-signature switch takes place in the U.S. in October.
The new Coin 2.0 also features a display that loads twice as fast, and it is thinner than the first-generation model by 8 percent.
Existing customers can sign up for a free Coin 2.0 upgrade using the company's mobile app for iOS, via its Settings menu. Existing customers who have not yet received the card may have their order automatically upgraded. New customers who buy today should have their card by the first quarter of 2016.
Coin 2.0 costs $100, plus shipping and tax. Its main feature is NFC functionality -- the same technology that drives Apple Pay in the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch.
The company behind Coin 2.0 says it will support chip-and-PIN and chip-and-signature cards via NFC. That suggests the card won't work at chip-and-signature terminals that do not accept NFC.
Coin 2.0 won't feature EMV support out of the box, but the company said it hopes to make the over-the-air update available as soon as possible. In a question-and-answer list on its website, it said it will keep customers informed as it completes partnership agreements with various financial institutions.
AppleInsider has had its hands on the Coin iOS-connected credit card for a few weeks now and the early tests have led to mixed results.
While most merchants work fine with Coin, we did run into a handful of locations where the card was outright rejected. It's unclear if these rejections were due to poor machine readers, the magnetic stripe on the Coin itself, or because of new chip-and-signature terminals that require chip cards.
The new Coin 2.0 also gives users the ability to give their card a nickname that appears in the app and on the card's e-paper screen. The electronic stripe on the rear of the card is also said to perform better at gas stations and other merchants.
Over-the-air software updates are in the works too, which will bring EMV capabilities and new features. Coin claims this will make the device future-proof, unlike the current model, which could be rejected at numerous merchants once the chip-and-signature switch takes place in the U.S. in October.
The new Coin 2.0 also features a display that loads twice as fast, and it is thinner than the first-generation model by 8 percent.
Existing customers can sign up for a free Coin 2.0 upgrade using the company's mobile app for iOS, via its Settings menu. Existing customers who have not yet received the card may have their order automatically upgraded. New customers who buy today should have their card by the first quarter of 2016.
Coin 2.0 costs $100, plus shipping and tax. Its main feature is NFC functionality -- the same technology that drives Apple Pay in the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch.
The company behind Coin 2.0 says it will support chip-and-PIN and chip-and-signature cards via NFC. That suggests the card won't work at chip-and-signature terminals that do not accept NFC.
Coin 2.0 won't feature EMV support out of the box, but the company said it hopes to make the over-the-air update available as soon as possible. In a question-and-answer list on its website, it said it will keep customers informed as it completes partnership agreements with various financial institutions.
AppleInsider has had its hands on the Coin iOS-connected credit card for a few weeks now and the early tests have led to mixed results.
While most merchants work fine with Coin, we did run into a handful of locations where the card was outright rejected. It's unclear if these rejections were due to poor machine readers, the magnetic stripe on the Coin itself, or because of new chip-and-signature terminals that require chip cards.
Comments
This is a product creating a solution for a problem that doesn't exist.
ATMS and Gas Stations - no problem tho...
And for $0, I can use the contactless card my credit card company has provided for the last, oh 9 years.
If a tech company is looking to solve a problem, do something to make it possible for my driver's license and proof of insurance is on my iPhone and Apple Watch. Oh...wait...that would take a change in some laws. Nevermind.
My real credit card works literally everywhere. No problems. That Coin doesn't work in some places means you must bring real credit cards with you which means the Coin product is pointless.
This logic works with ?Pay to you know.
This would be a great idea in a world that didn't have Apple Pay and the other similar services but as this isn't that world, this seems DOA. Best of luck though.
I don't agree. There are plenty of iPhone users who do not have access to ?Pay still using 4s, 4S, 5, 5C, and 5S (assuming they don't have an ?Watch which is still a very small percentage of iPhone users). And there are still many who do have an iPhone 6 who are not using ?Pay for whatever reason. And then there's the fact that there are a lot of people who don't use iPhones. So there's at least 5 or 6 generations of iPhone users alone who are not using ?Pay, and 100s of millions of smartphone users not using an iPhone. Yet they have a wallet full of credit cards. This is hardly DOA for the near future, and I'm glad to see them step up to the plate. Until I upgrade my iPhone 5S, I will pick up one of these to use in the meantime.
This logic works with ?Pay to you know.
Not exactly.
I carry my iPhone around with me regardless of Apple Pay. Being able to use Apple Pay is an added benefit.
With Coin, it is meant to replace 4 of my credit cards. Ideally I would like to carry just Coin in my wallet and be done with it. Since Coin has issues certain places, I can't leave the house without my wallet of 4 other cards, rendering the value of Coin to be somewhat pointless for many people.
Apple may buy Coin for $20 billion. After all, Apple pay $3 billion for Beat Music.
You're not making sense. Financially, Beats is a very profitable hardware business. No to mention Beats Music laid the groundwork for Apple Music and saved them a ton of time getting their streaming service up and running. And hired them a lot of music talent to continue to work on and build out the Apple Music brand and service.
The Beats hardware alone will make Apple back that money going forward. But the brand name and logo of Beats is probably its most powerful weapon. The Beats logo is up there with The Criterion Collection logo, the Nike swoosh, the Target logo and others as clear memorable, simple and beautiful. It's great branding and something that's very easy to underestimate. It's not as if Apple didn't have the money. Let's assume the biggest company is the world has some idea what they are doing.
The motto of this company should be, "It's too little, too late, but we're still gonna try to sell it."
Apple wouldn't want this company if it were free. It offers absolutely nothing that Apple would want.
The motto of this company should be, "It's too little, too late, but we're still gonna try to sell it."
Apple wouldn't want this company if it were free. It offers absolutely nothing that Apple would want.
True. And your post illustrates an interesting broader point: The key to new technology, particularly hardware, is first to market, first to sell. If you innovate, you have to hit the market quickly, because odds are there are many people hot on your heels. Yes, you can get a patent, but those are only keys to a courthouse. What a company wants is profits quickly, being sure they did in fact innovate. If you're big enough (eg Samesung) you can simply steal, and argue later you didn't. Meanwhile, profits now, stockholders get money now, and somewhere down the road someone else can clean up the mess when you are on a beach earning 20%.
A delay in making and selling is fatal to any tech company, and this is where Coin failed.
I have the first one and haven't been that thrilled with it. Mainly for the exact reasons jd_in_db have said.
This is a product creating a solution for a problem that doesn't exist.
Incorrect.. The problem is the wallet. It's leather, old and a pain in the @$$.... The idea behind coin, Plastic (my fav) is to take a wallet like mine thats a passport wallet and get it down to just ID and one card (reward cards, debit and CCs). Thats what I WANT, my wallet is overflowing, and this is a viable solution.
Making blanket assumptions like yours "Their is no problem, these are not the cards your looking for" dumb... For me, and others who hate wallets in general, this is going to sell just fine. Eventually, we'll see it all go digital and onto the wrist. ID, rewards cards, Debit cards, Credit Cards, all of it will just be on a wrist device because its convenient, and familiar.. Call it a smartwatch, Digital wallet.. whatever.. Baby steps.. but we'll get there.
Perhaps, if people (such as myself) weren't still waiting on the first version, I would be more enthusiastic about this....
#StillWaiting
Apple may buy Coin for $20 billion. After all, Apple pay $3 billion for Beat Music.
Apple bought an insanely successful headphone and streaming music company, which was generating billions in revenue, so Apple will now buy a company that is making a useless product with probably no profit... for ~10X as much? Brilliant fucking logic there. Let's see what other nuggets of wisdom you have..
Alright then. Too bad one can't be banned for sheer stupidity.
Incorrect.. The problem is the wallet. It's leather, old and a pain in the @$$.... The idea behind coin, Plastic (my fav) is to take a wallet like mine thats a passport wallet and get it down to just ID and one card (reward cards, debit and CCs). Thats what I WANT, my wallet is overflowing, and this is a viable solution.
Making blanket assumptions like yours "Their is no problem, these are not the cards your looking for" dumb... For me, and others who hate wallets in general, this is going to sell just fine. Eventually, we'll see it all go digital and onto the wrist. ID, rewards cards, Debit cards, Credit Cards, all of it will just be on a wrist device because its convenient, and familiar.. Call it a smartwatch, Digital wallet.. whatever.. Baby steps.. but we'll get there.
This product is only valuable if it works all the time. Since it doesn't show the full card number, a business can't even manually enter your credit card in the event it doesn't work. Everyone who has a Coin right now purchased it before it was out in the wild, getting excited about its potential. Now that it is out in the wild and it's clear it doesn't work 100% of the time, that's a big problem.
I think Coin is neat, and I've used it many places, but it isn't a product that has allowed me to leave my wallet at home. Because of that, it's not really solving any problems for me. By the time the get around to fixing all of its problems, Apple Pay will be in more places and my need for Coin will lessen.
Just my 2 cents.
Beats has a real product today, and is very profitable.