The problem with digital coupons is that you can’t see them. It’s easy to forget what offers you have available, unless you visit a website or an app, or print out a list – which kind of defeats the purpose of paperless coupons.
So a technology company has come up with an answer – a payment card that displays your offers right in front of your eyes.
That’s one of the features of Dynamics Inc.’s “Wallet Card”, introduced yesterday at the CES 2018 consumer technology trade show in Las Vegas. The company calls the card the “world’s first connected, secure payment card”.
The Wallet Card looks like a regular credit card, but it’s no simple piece of plastic. It has a digital display and an embedded cell phone connection, so it can store all of your credit and debit cards, loyalty cards and coupons, too.
If you have a Wallet Card linked to a credit card account, the account number will show up on the digital display. Want to use a different credit or debit card? Just toggle the display and a different account number is shown. If your account is compromised, your bank can issue you a new account number instantly and wirelessly, so you don’t have to wait for a new plastic card.
And the display can show you more than just account numbers. It can also keep track of loyalty rewards, and show you what coupons you have available. Several credit card issuers offer card-linked coupons that are applied automatically if you pay using your card. But they suffer from the same problem as digital grocery coupons – you may forget or never know what coupons are available for you to use.
So the Wallet Card can display a coupon offer right on its digital screen. If you opt in, the card’s connected cell phone can receive signals from nearby businesses and alert you to available offers. When you use your Wallet Card to pay, it can also keep track of loyalty rewards. The card can display a notice when, for example, you’ve purchased enough coffees from the corner coffee shop to earn your next one free.
And the company promises there are more features to come. “This is just the beginning,” said Jeffrey Mullen, CEO of Dynamics Inc. “Wallet Card is poised to redefine the way consumers and businesses think of credit cards.”
If the idea catches on, one could envision grocery stores applying the technology to their loyalty cards – or perhaps incorporating your loyalty account into your existing Wallet Card. Forget what digital grocery coupons you have loaded to your account? Just scroll through the offers on your card’s digital display, or add new ones.
Of course, many of us already do that with grocery apps, without the need for a newfangled plastic card. And with mobile contactless payments on the rise, plastic cards – even high-tech ones like the Wallet Card – may be on their way out anyway. But Dynamics Inc. and its partners insist there’s still a demand for physical cards, so they’re due for an upgrade. “There is still much that can be done to update the card-based experience, which continues to be the primary form factor used globally to complete digital payments transactions,” said Visa senior vice president Mark Nelsen.
Dynamics Inc. has already partnered with several banks and payments networks to make its cards available beginning later this year. So keep an eye out to see whether your bank or card issuer jumps on board with the idea. You may never look at your credit card – or coupons – the same way again.
