66

Coin (onlycoin.com)

almost 10 years ago from , Product @ imgix

54 comments

  • Allan GrinshteinAllan Grinshtein, almost 10 years ago

    A person finding this one card could totally wreak havoc on your personal/business finances. It doesn't make me feel safe to visit the about page and see a bunch of very young-looking guys wearing sunglasses. It makes me think "they don't take this seriously enough."

    I had my credit card out to buy a "coin" until I hit the about page. The convenience is not worth putting personal/business accounts in the hands of goofy kids that just popped out of YC's W13 womb.

    12 points
    • Calvin WilsonCalvin Wilson, almost 10 years ago

      Yeah, but they got a guy from NASA!...

      1 point
    • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, almost 10 years ago

      my sentiments exactly. even in the video, security is a joke.

      3 points
    • Matt Johnson, almost 10 years ago (edited almost 10 years ago )

      I agree with what you are saying. That about page is not very reassuring. Also ironic that in order to pre-order I had to get out my wallet and a card to type the number on the card. Can't just swipe it...which stopped me from pre-ordering.

      0 points
    • Matthew R. MillerMatthew R. Miller, almost 10 years ago

      The Coin card is deactivated after a short period of time away from your phone. So, in order to wreak havoc, they would have to find both your Coin card and your iPhone. You can also deactivate the card through the app.

      2 points
    • Chris De La FuenteChris De La Fuente, almost 10 years ago

      They go into the nitty gritty details in their FAQ, I haven't had my identity stolen or anything financially terrible happen to me so maybe I am naive, but it sounds like this thing is pretty safe.

      I am also not one to worry about locking things, or laptop passwords, or website passwords or anything like that.

      0 points
      • Tim GauthierTim Gauthier, almost 10 years ago

        all your payment info is stored on their servers, no thanks. The card has no fumble protection from someone accidentally changing which card you are using when the server is swiping your card. Also lots of places may simply not accept the card as it has no signature or logo's on it.

        Plus in Canada this is impossible entirely since we don't use mag stripes and use chips, like most of the rest of the world does these days.

        4 points
  • Manik RatheeManik Rathee, almost 10 years ago (edited almost 10 years ago )

    Another perspective:

    Coin, the latest clever payment system, shows that digital wallets remain a terrible idea

    "It sounds like a great idea… until you realize that the price of replacing a handful of plastic credit cards with a single one is that your ability to pay for anything becomes entirely dependent on the battery life of your smartphone. That’s for security reasons: If it loses contact with your phone for a user-specified period of time, from one to 10 minutes, Coin deactivates itself."

    http://qz.com/147630/coin-the-latest-clever-payment-system-shows-that-digital-wallets-remain-a-terrible-idea/

    I think this is a really clever idea, and as with any new item, there are tons of considerations that have to be address. Looking forward to seeing it in production next year along with the new products it will inspire.

    4 points
  • Emelyn BakerEmelyn Baker, almost 10 years ago

    Great concept! I hope that the designers continue to play with the animation speed — it's a bit too rapid as you scroll through the site.

    3 points
    • Agatha YuAgatha Yu, almost 10 years ago

      agreed, especially with the speed of the swiping part.

      2 points
    • Pete LadaPete Lada, almost 10 years ago

      Website is kind of bad IMO. I hate websites that animate with the speed of your scroll. I so very rarely scroll smoothly (almost always in jerky movements) which makes the animations both jerky and often times hard to follow.

      0 points
  • Carlos BruscoliCarlos Bruscoli, almost 10 years ago

    not buying anything if the guy from the video its not on the team. ( actually not buying because wouldn't work on my country but i prefer the other version of the story )

    2 points
  • Brad McNallyBrad McNally, almost 10 years ago (edited almost 10 years ago )

    What is to stop a waiter from accidentally changing the card when they pick it up to swipe it?

    2 points
    • Ryan LeFevreRyan LeFevre, almost 10 years ago

      The question I asked was, what's stopping a waiter who owns one of these from adding your card to their phone? Sounds like a card thief's dream come true to me.

      5 points
      • Miguel Solorio, almost 10 years ago

        This is probably a big enough security issue that will absolutely prevent me from ordering one. There needs to be a better authentication process to prevent others from adding your cards.

        You could also ask what's stopping a waiter to take a photo of any card and using it online?

        0 points
      • Matthew R. MillerMatthew R. Miller, almost 10 years ago (edited almost 10 years ago )

        From the FAQ

        Q. What steps does the Coin app take to prevent cards from being added fraudulently?

        A. The Coin app requires that you take a picture of the front and back of the card, type in card details, and then swipe the card (using a reader we provide) to ensure the card’s encoded magnetic stripe data matches the card details provided. It is not possible to complete these steps unless you are in physical possession of a card. As an additional safeguard, the Coin app will only allow you to add cards you own.

        1 point
        • Ryan LeFevreRyan LeFevre, almost 10 years ago

          I don't understand how this would thwart my scenario. You give the waiter your card, the waiter takes it away, takes a photo of the card, swipes it in the data machine, and is good to go.

          I had a credit card stolen when I was in South Africa because a guy took a photo of it with his cell phone in the span of about 5 seconds. I'm pretty skeptical of their security claims.

          3 points
          • Miguel Solorio, almost 10 years ago

            "As an additional safeguard, the Coin app will only allow you to add cards you own."

            I believe the catch here is you must be the owner of the card. I'd like to know how they verify the owner of each card, be it be SS#, billing, zip, etc.

            1 point
            • Ashley KolodziejAshley Kolodziej, almost 10 years ago

              They might be able to do it in a similar way as when you set up authorization for transfers from bank to bank - maybe a small deposit/credit made to your credit card, which you check in your account and enter into the app to give the ability to add that card to the Coin.

              0 points
              • Miguel Solorio, almost 10 years ago

                I believe that's the way Paypal works, hopefully Coin is able to work like this as well. I'd feel a lot safer knowing I have to verify with my bank/cc.

                0 points
          • Matthew R. MillerMatthew R. Miller, almost 10 years ago

            He must also enter the details of the card. If the name on your card doesn't match the name on the Coin account he's trying to add it to, it's a no-go.

            0 points
    • Miguel Solorio, almost 10 years ago (edited almost 10 years ago )

      Q. Can someone accidentally change which card is selected on my Coin?

      A. We’ve designed the button to toggle cards in a way that makes it difficult to trigger a "press" unintentionally. Dropping a Coin, holding a Coin, sitting on a Coin, or putting the Coin in a check presenter at a restaurant will not inadvertently toggle the card that is selected.

      0 points
      • Dustin KemperDustin Kemper, almost 10 years ago

        But a curious waiter messing with it could easily change your settings without knowing what he is doing.

        0 points
      • Ryan LeFevreRyan LeFevre, almost 10 years ago

        Personally, I think they should get rid of the button on the card altogether and only make it possible to change cards from your phone.

        4 points
      • Jonathan SuhJonathan Suh, almost 10 years ago (edited almost 10 years ago )

        This is the primary reason that makes it a no-go for me. It's imperative I have full control of what transactions go on which card and the thought that someone else could potentially change the selected card, intentional or not, is a risk when it comes to my personal finances

        0 points
  • Account deleted almost 10 years ago

    Preordered

    2 points
  • Joe TurnerJoe Turner, almost 10 years ago

    Novelty - I think it will come and go, like most. I'm sure I saw something very similar on Kickstarter a few months back? I would rather pay for things on my iPhone, that's what we should be looking at going forward right? Authentication via Touch ID with the next iPhone, I'll wait for that...

    1 point
  • Kelly SuttonKelly Sutton, almost 10 years ago

    I'm intrigued. Will probably wait for them to get the first-adopter kinks out before committing to it.

    1 point
    • Stefan HoardStefan Hoard, almost 10 years ago

      Agreed. For something as big as your own personal finances I think it's best to just wait it out, and see what happens.

      0 points
  • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, almost 10 years ago

    wonder what the legality of this is. they're essentially duplicating credit cards. pretty sure that's a felony.

    1 point
    • Eric H.Eric H., almost 10 years ago

      On a similar side note, can you imagine how many well-off kids will sneak into their parent's purses and clone the cards therein? Micro purchases, Johnny, not XBoxes! One must be discreet, after all.

      2 points
  • Eric H.Eric H., almost 10 years ago

    Curious: would an ATM recognize this normally? And does anyone see where it discusses battery life? I assume it needs to be charged (no pun intended).

    1 point
  • Jason WilliamsJason Williams, almost 10 years ago

    Looks like they've got some competition!

    http://gizmodo.com/googles-one-step-closer-to-being-a-bank-with-the-new-w-1468412651

    0 points
  • Nicholas HendrickxNicholas Hendrickx, almost 10 years ago

    Q. My soufflés keep collapsing! What can I do?

    A. In order for the meringue to peak properly we suggest adding a little lemon juice to the béchamel. This strengthens the mixture and prevents tragedy.

    :')

    0 points
  • Andrew LucasAndrew Lucas, almost 10 years ago

    Here's another one:

    http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/02/the-protean-echo-reduces-all-of-your-credit-cards-to-one-ubercard/

    0 points
  • Rob MasefieldRob Masefield, almost 10 years ago

    A sound, if not clever idea with a few obvious kinks still to iron out, but the unprofessional manner with which the product has been launched (as covered by many already), does nothing for consumer confidence which, for a product of this type, is surely paramount??

    0 points
  • Cihad TurhanCihad Turhan, almost 10 years ago

    No, I won't trust them. He's like new graduate student from a college and he doesn't seem serious.

    How can feel safe to use it?

    0 points
  • Giulio MichelonGiulio Michelon, almost 10 years ago

    Amazing.

    0 points
  • Alex MontagueAlex Montague, almost 10 years ago

    Flaws upon flaws, but damn that thing is pretty.

    0 points
  • Henrique Alves, almost 10 years ago

    Amazing! Shit to live in UK, only US get the good stuffs :)

    0 points
  • Brian A.Brian A., almost 10 years ago (edited almost 10 years ago )

    On the security front, here's what they have to say about stopping fradulent activity:

    Q. What steps does the Coin app take to prevent cards from being added fraudulently?

    A. The Coin app requires that you take a picture of the front and back of the card, type in card details, and then swipe the card (using a reader we provide) to ensure the card’s encoded magnetic stripe data matches the card details provided. It is not possible to complete these steps unless you are in physical possession of a card. As an additional safeguard, the Coin app will only allow you to add cards you own.

    All of that being said, I still wouldn't feel comfortable using this; it just seems a little too easy for thieves to wreak some havoc. I'm sure that they've thought out the security aspect of this, but they don't really make that at all evident on their site, and I think they'd do well to emphasize that a little more. I know convenience trumps a lot of other things, but security should still be the #1 priority and get more attention that a short sentence on a marketing page.

    0 points
    • Miguel Solorio, almost 10 years ago

      "As an additional safeguard, the Coin app will only allow you to add cards you own."

      I would like to know how they process this. Would make sense to have to enter any billing information required, as you do online, to better prevent others from adding your cards.

      0 points
      • Brian A.Brian A., almost 10 years ago

        I would hope that they use some bits of personal information to verify the identity of the person using or adding the card, such as the billing zip code or last 4 digits of the person's social security number.

        1 point
      • Matthew R. MillerMatthew R. Miller, almost 10 years ago

        I'm sure there is a name tied to your Coin account. Since they require card information and photos of the card in order for it to be added, I doubt they would allow you to add a card with a different name on it.

        0 points
  • Burak DonertasBurak Donertas, almost 10 years ago (edited almost 10 years ago )

    Shut up and take my money

    0 points
  • ポール ウェッブポール ウェッブ, almost 10 years ago

    This is niiiiice! Like others have said before me though, I'd like to know more about security. I've been a victim of credit fraud, and have had my debit card stolen. A remote wipe would be nice.

    0 points
  • Brandon JacobyBrandon Jacoby, almost 10 years ago (edited almost 10 years ago )

    It's a neat idea. But that's all it is. I agree with what others have said here, I just don't think these people are taking it serious enough.

    Cool, just see too much room for things to go wrong.

    0 points
  • Maksim PetrivMaksim Petriv, almost 10 years ago

    I just preordered mine. Feel free to use my referral link. https://onlycoin.com/?referral=eHXIYcMX

    0 points
  • Dan LeboDan Lebo, almost 10 years ago

    Done & done. Feel free to use my referral link :) http://bit.ly/1cYGa1h

    0 points