Credit Cards
Credit cards that hide the account number and store multiple accounts
If you’re anything like me, there’s a stack of credit cards bulking up the size of your wallet (or purse), making it fit to burst in a Costanza-like explosion of receipts and unused condoms. New technology from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania startup Dynamics Inc. could help cut the number of cards cluttering up your wallet by allowing you to access multiple credit card accounts on a single card. To enhance security, the technology also allows the credit card number that appears on the front of a card to be hidden until the correct code is entered. Read More
ROAMpay credit card swiper for iPhones, Blackberrys, and Droids
The ability to turn a smartphone into a portable credit card swiper makes sense for small business owners on the go, as well as anyone who happens to be out of cash. Like Square, the new ROAMpay device plugs in to the audio jack of your smartphone. Using the company's app, you get the same functions as using a traditional credit terminal and it's available on iPhone and Android. Read More
If you’re the kind of person whose wallet or purse is overflowing with credit cards, and locating the lone card that hasn’t yet been maxed out is proving more and more difficult, the Credit Card Holder could be just what you need. Unfortunately, it won’t help you pay off said card, but it will make it easier to find the card you want, when you need it. Read More
Take credit card payments on your iPhone with Square
The proliferation of credit cards as a payment method preferred by millions of consumers has led to the co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, creating Square – a credit card reader device that makes any mobile phone a cash register. Retailers can hook up the credit card reader to any device with an audio input jack, including a mobile phone. And consumers never have to worry about carrying cash again (well, almost). Read More
Emue Technologies has unveiled the next generation of its anti-fraud credit card. The device combines a world first embedded 14-segment E Ink display with a 12-button numeric keypad, microprocessor and, despite being the same size as a conventional card, a battery designed to last for three years. Read More
November 27, 2008 A few weeks back we reported that BMW was working on a smartkey, and now we have images too. Contactless transactions and the cashless society are moving inexorably closer and BMW’s Research and Technology division has now released information relating to the development of a prototype for a multifunctional car key which enables cashless payment and personalised vehicle access. Clearly, car keys are one of those things you carry with you almost constantly, so it makes sense. Read More
Digital security provider Gemalto has unveiled the Ezio Thin Reader, a credit card-sized authentication device for online banking, e-commerce, phone banking and other e-banking transactions that prevents the user from having to type their PIN on the vulnerable environment of a workstation keyboard. Read More
June 12, 2006 The points of contact where the real world meets the virtual world are somewhat akin to the fabled end of the rainbow and eBay’s grand plan for ownership of a sizeable slab of the pot-of-gold became a little clearer last week when subsidiary PayPal introduced the PayPal Plus Credit Card - a MasterCard that can be used both online and anywhere that MasterCard is accepted offline. It seems like the eBay global garage sale has truly assembled a dream team of online properties on the back of its growth to become the world’s largest online marketplace. Last quarter, eBay traded US$10 billion worth of goods and Paypal was already the most preferred electronic payment method among eBay users before it was acquired in October, 2002. PayPal now has 100 million account holders and eBay has 200 million users (up from 147 million a year ago) and the recently acquired Skype VOIP communications company has 100 million users, so we forsee a healthy future for PayPal Plus. Not surprisingly, there’s a generous rewards program that applies to all online or offline purchases and just to ensure things get going with some immediate impetus, cardholders can take advantage of a special introductory offer – 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers until 2007. This limited-time offer is good through August 31, 2006, and will automatically appear on eBay items over US$50 as long as sellers accept PayPal and have not opted out of displaying PayPal Buyer Credit messages on their listings. Read More
A new credit card that enables users to configure individual preferences online has been launched in Australia. Billed as the first card designed by the technology profession, the Titanium Visa from InTechDirect uses a web based "Control Panel" that interactively adjusts the interest rate, card fee and interest-free period depending on the type of product specified. Read More
