How much technology can you fit into a 0.8-millimeter-thick credit card? Last November, Coin offered a first taste of what was possible. The device promised to digitally hold eight credit or debit cards and let you choose between them at will. You could swipe Coin in any conventional card reader, and it would notify you if it had been lost or stolen using Bluetooth. Coin would have a two-year battery life, and a companion app that could hold your coupons and ID cards. But Coin still hasn’t shipped.
You already keep an array of cards in your wallet: Debit card, credit card and gift cards. Several developers are working on reducing all those cards to just one. Last year, it was Coin, the super card that holds eight cards and allows you to swipe between them at will. But Coin is still only available for pre-order. And now Coin’s worst nightmare has arrived in the form of Plastc, which promises to outdo Coin in every way. For starters, Plastc holds more cards: 20, to be exact, interchangeable via the card’s E-ink display. It also has upgradable firmware, allowing for new features as the technology develops.
