Walking around with a wallet filled with multiple credit, gift and store loyalty cards can be a major hassle—especially when they can barely even fit in the wallet anymore.
The company Qvivr has come up with a solution to that dilemma called Swyp (pronounced Swipe). The next-generation electronic wallet is a thin electronic device that looks, feels and works just like a conventional credit card, but the device has a chip that can store account information for up to 25 cards, eliminating the need to carry around all the extra bulk. The user can select any of the programmed cards using buttons on Swyp and a graphical image will show which card is being used at any given time. The user’s name, account number and expiration date are all displayed on the card, and the magnetic stripe on the back is programmed to transform Swyp into the chosen card.
Swyp is designed to work any place where the user can swipe a standard plastic card, and should work in any location that accepts magnetic stripe-based cards issued in the U.S. Swyp has been designed to conveniently learn from the user’s behaviors, patterns and surroundings to predict what card they will be using for the next purchase. Users can also share and exchange gift cards with other Swyp users. Swyp can also be used to electronically capture and organize receipts using an accompanying smartphone app. For security, it will lock up and stop working if the user’s smartphone is out of range. Older, similar devices include the Coin and Plastc, but those products can only store up to eight and 20 cards, respectively. Swyp is also similar to mobile wallets, but the latter only work with NFC-enabled terminals.
Consumers can buy Swyp direct from the company’s own Web site for $49 as part of an early bird special. It is expected to cost $99 at retail when it ships this fall.